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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has launched alarm on the burning burden in a hot air balloon of Nigeria, asking for an audit on the large scale of all the loans guaranteed by the federal government in the last ten years, among the projections that the public debt of the nation could exceed ₦ 200 trilion before the end of 2025.
On Sunday in a strongly formulated declaration, the party accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of immersing the country more deeply in what described as a “tax disaster”, following the approval of the national assembly of a foreign loan request of $ 21 billion.
The secretary of the national publicity of the party, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, described the continuous tendency to the loan as “tax vandalism”, and said that the government of President Tinubu had exceeded the previous administrations to accumulate debts without any visible economic recovery or improvement of infrastructure.
“What the Nigerians are witnessing is to say the least an effort calculated to mortgage the future of the country”, reads the declaration.
“This administration has borrowed more in two years compared to the Government of Buhari in eight, without any measurable impact on infrastructure, education or health care”.
According to the ADC, while the former president Muhammadu Buhari has borrowed an average of ₦ 4.7 trillion of years a year, the government of President Tinubu intensified the loan with an average of ₦ 49.8 trillion per year – an increase of over ten times.
The party argued that, despite the smaller loans claimed in dollars, the depicting value of the Naira means that the maintenance cost of these loans has become overwhelming.
“When I convert to Naira, the annual foreign loans of Tinubu now on average ₦ 25.5 trillion, far exceeding the annual average of Buhari of ₦ 2.2 trillion”, observed the party.
“The implication is clear: Nigeria is transforming into a debt trap without any practicable plan for escape.”
The ADC also stated that the total public debt of Nigeria, which was located at ₦ 12.6 trillion in 2015 when the all progressive Congress (APC) assumed power, had now risen to over 149 trilion-a increase of almost 12 times.
He said that the external debt, in particular from institutions such as the World Bank and Eurobond, had grown exponentially, with the debt with the only tripling World Bank and the Eurobond liabilities that grow by eleven times during a decade.
The party also accused the national assembly of having abandoned its role of constitutional supervision, instead acting as “rubber stamp” for executive loan requests.
“They continue to approve these loans without asking difficult questions, without requesting transparency and without defending the Nigerian people,” said the ADC.
By raising concerns about the burden on future generations, the party complained that, despite the increase in loans, the critical sectors remain under -childhood.
“Universities are still fighting, hospitals are poorly equipped, electricity remains unreliable and small businesses are suffocating under high taxes and lack of access to credit,” he added.
Citing the Association of Small Companies of Nigeria, the ADC said that the loan of the Tinubu administration was suffocating small businesses and removing investors, while over 60 percent of national income is now used to serve the debt.
The ADC concluded by asking the president Tinubu to stop what he called “tax unconsciousness” and instead focus on authentic economic reforms.
It has requested the full disclosure of all the loan agreements signed in the last 10 years, including terms, interest rates, reimbursement deadlines and recipients.
“The Nigerians deserve to know the truth about these loans. The time for the secret is over. We cannot continue to borrow to cover the failed policies,” says the note.
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