The speaker Abbas warned of the mortgaged future

Nigerian debt profile that has spinning has crossed a dangerous boundary, with speakers of the House of Representatives, Rep. Abbas Tajudeen, sounded a terrible warning that the nation was on the verge of mortgaging its future through a careless loan and weak supervision.

Speaking at the opening of the 11th Annual Conference and the General Association of the West African Public Account Committee (Waapac) in Abuja, Abbas revealed that Nigerian public debt burst into ₦ 149.39 trillion (around US \ $ 97 billion) in the first quarter of 2025 – a shocking leap from 121 billion) in the first quarter of 2025 – shocking from 121.7 billion) in The first quarter of 2025 – a shocking leap from 121.71 billion.

“What is more alarming is the ratio of debt to GDP, which is now around 52 percent, far on the legal ceiling of 40 percent determined by our own law. Our debt border violations indicate tensions on fiscal sustainability,” Abbas said.

The speaker warned that Nigeria’s fiscal carelessness was not only a budget challenge but a generation of betrayal. “Public debt supervision is a democratic duty and legislative moral responsibility,” he said. “Our parliament must ensure that every loan decision reflects attention, transparency, and collective interests of our citizens.”

Abbas painted a gloomy picture of the continental debt trap, given that the total African public debt reached $ 1.8 trillion in 2022, with only external debt that was projected to exceed $ 1 trillion in 2023. He quoted countries that had been drowned, such as Ghana, such as Sudan in 344 percent of Gila debt 1344444444444. South Africa above 77 percent.

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For Nigeria, the speaker warned, the red flag had flown. “In many cases, the government spends more to serve debt rather than for health care and other important services,” he complained. “This is not just a budget problem, but a structural crisis that demands urgent parliamentary attention and coordinated reforms.”

He revealed that domestic loans were 53 percent of Nigerian debt while external loans contributed 47 percent, the balance that made the country exposed to shocks from volatile foreign markets.

The speaker is not tough in his criticism of African loan patterns. He noted that western private lenders now control 35 percent of the African government debt, with multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF hold 39 percent more, while Chinese creditors – are often reportedly in public debates – count only 12 percent.

“The significant part of our national income is related to debt service rather than being invested in terms of the most needed by our people: Way, School, Hospital, and Innovation,” Abbas said. “The high cost of commercial loans, coupled with the burden of payment in foreign currencies, makes many African economies vulnerable to market shocks.”

He urged rethinking the habit of borrowing: “If Africa wants to grow stronger, we not only have to negotiate more loan requirements but also rethink our dependence on external finances. We must channel more energy into mobilizing domestic resources, fostering intra-African trade, and creating financial instruments that serve continental development priorities.”

While Abbas appointed alarm, government officials tried to shrink the crisis. Minister of Finance Wale Edun insisted “Nigeria turned,” claimed that economic reforms expanded fiscal space and investor confidence. He argued that the debt to GDP ratio reached 38.8 percent, describing it as “a comfortable level compared to global benchmarks.”

But the speaker’s message was blunt: Without a drastic reform and strict supervision, Nigeria was at risk of sliding into a debt trap that could paralyze its economy and sacrifice the welfare of future generations. “Citizens have the right to know, and we have the duty to tell,” Abbas said.