Turaki-led PDP to FG: Explain how N149trn borrowings have benefited Nigerians

The Interim National Working Committee (INWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Dr Tanimu Turaki, has challenged the Federal Government to explain why its rising borrowings have not translated into significant reductions in insecurity, unemployment and the country’s infrastructure deficit.

Nigeria’s debts now total N159 trillion, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO).

The party said the increasing indebtedness of Nigeria under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration of President Bola Tinubu was becoming a source of concern, arguing that there was not much development in the country to justify the burgeoning loans.

The concerns were contained in a position document by the Turaki-led INWC, which the Nigerian Tribune sourced on Sunday in Abuja.

The document x-rayed the country’s debt profile under the current administration and questioned the economic rationale behind the continued resort to borrowing.

“There is something increasingly unsettling about the economic philosophy of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration: whenever government spending appears to outrun available revenue, the instinct seems to be to look for another loan,” the PDP said.

It, however, acknowledged that borrowing was not inherently wrong, noting that governments routinely obtained loans to finance infrastructure, stimulate economic activity, bridge revenue gaps and fund projects whose benefits extended into the future.

According to the PDP faction, the critical issues remain how much government borrowed, the cost of the loans, their intended purposes and whether the borrowing ultimately left the country better or worse off.

The PDP noted that Nigeria entered the Tinubu presidency with a substantial debt burden but said developments since May 2023 had raised questions about whether borrowing was part of a carefully designed strategy for economic transformation or had become a substitute for addressing the country’s revenue and expenditure problems.

It cited figures from the DMO showing that Nigeria’s total public debt stood at about N159.35tn as of 31 March 2026, noting that part of the increase was attributable to the depreciation of the naira, which raised the naira value of foreign-currency debt.

The party said the currency effect, however, did not remove the underlying concern that the country’s obligations continued to grow while its capacity to generate sufficient revenue remained inadequate.

The INWC also cited President Tinubu’s acknowledgment in May 2026 that Nigeria would spend about $11.6 billion servicing its debt in 2026, almost half of projected government revenue, compared with $5.15bn spent on debt service in 2025.

It said the situation raised questions about the sustainability of the government’s borrowing strategy, particularly as the 2026 budget of N68.32tn provides N15.8tn for debt servicing.

According to the PDP, every naira committed to debt servicing was unavailable for roads, schools, hospitals, security, employment and other social investments, warning that the country could be caught in a cycle of borrowing, spending and borrowing again to service previous obligations.

“It is not enough for government officials to announce that borrowed funds will finance infrastructure. Nigerians deserve to know precisely which projects are being financed, how much they cost, when they will be completed and what economic returns they are expected to generate,” the party said.

The INWC said there was a crucial difference between borrowing to build productive capacity and borrowing to sustain an expensive government structure or finance recurring fiscal gaps. It argued that loans could be justified where they expanded economic output, created jobs, increased tax revenue and strengthened the country’s capacity to repay.

The party expressed concern that Nigeria’s weak revenue base made excessive borrowing particularly dangerous, adding that the government’s tax reforms were aimed at improving revenue mobilisation while its continued accumulation of debt raised questions about whether it was attempting to solve a revenue problem with a borrowing solution.

It also referred to the administration’s efforts to secure legislative approval for fresh external borrowing, including a proposed $21.5bn borrowing programme in 2025 and the subsequent approval by the National Assembly of a $2.85bn foreign borrowing plan, partly for budget financing and refinancing maturing Eurobonds.

The PDP said refinancing debt was not in itself evidence of fiscal recklessness, but warned that repeated refinancing could raise questions about whether government was borrowing to expand productive capacity or merely “to keep the debt machine running.”

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It urged the administration and the National Assembly to provide clear answers on the purpose, cost and measurable benefits of every major loan, insisting that “the Nigerian people deserve more than assurances that the loans are necessary. They deserve evidence.”

However, the government has consistently defended the loans and offered explanations about the impact, especially in funding reforms, cushioning hardship, and financing long-term development as against routine consumption.

Among the listed achievements are support for social safety nets, student finance such as student loans, small business support, and legacy infrastructure like the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

For instance, one major defence by the administration is that borrowing has helped protect vulnerable Nigerians after the fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange reforms.

Tinubu said the cash-transfer programme was designed to “cater for 15 million households” and was “specifically aimed at uplifting the poor and vulnerable.”

The Presidency also disclosed that the government’s cash transfers had reached “over 5.7 million households,” presenting them as part of the buffer against hardship, among others.