ADC Raises Alarm: Tinubu’s Borrowing Rate Ten Times Higher Than Buhari’s

According to reports from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has borrowed more than ten times as much as former President Muhammadu Buhari in just two years.

It stated that without any corresponding growth or economic recovery to support it, President Tinubu’s recent borrowing spree will push Nigeria’s national debt over N200 trillion by the year’s end.

After the National Assembly approved yet another $21 billion in foreign loans, the party expressed outrage over what it calls “fiscal vandalism” by the Tinubu administration.

In a statement released by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC charged that President Tinubu had gone above and beyond his predecessor by securing the nation’s future in mountains of debt under the guise of economic reform.

The party also accused the National Assembly of serving as a rubber stamp, claiming that MPs had neglected their responsibility to shield Nigerians from the effects of unmanageable debt.

In response to the approval of a new $21 billion in foreign loans, the ADC expressed its deep concern about the Tinubu administration’s risky obsession with borrowing, saying that what Nigerians are seeing is nothing less than a calculated decision to mortgage the nation’s future in order to cover up today’s failures.

Nigeria borrowed an average of N4.7 trillion annually under President Buhari, and even that raised a lot of alarm. But borrowing has increased to N49.8 trillion annually under President Tinubu.

“This administration has borrowed more than ten times as much in just two years as Buhari did in the same period.” Before the year ends, Nigeria’s total public debt would surpass N200 trillion at present rate. “Those in charge seem to have no brakes, believing they can borrow their way out of economic problems that require more thoughtful actions and greater fiscal discipline, and we are speeding toward a financial cliff,” ADC stated.

The party pointed out that supporters of this government prefer to claim that Tinubu borrows less money each year—just $1.7 billion—than Buhari, who borrows $4.15 billion.

But as soon as we examine the exchange rate, that reasoning falls apart. These same debts are costing the country much more now that the naira is in free decline, once more as a result of this administration’s bad policy decisions. When expressed in naira, Tinubu’s annual foreign borrowing totals N25.5 trillion, which is more than Buhari’s average of N2.2 trillion. As the party noted, “what we are seeing is the deepening of a debt trap created by economic mismanagement and a collapsed currency.”

The party also stated that “our total public debt has increased from N12.6 trillion to over N149 trillion in 2025 since the APC took over in 2015.” In only the previous ten years of the APC, more than $35 billion has been borrowed from external lenders. In a span of ten years, our debt to the World Bank has increased by about twelve times. Our Eurobond debt has increased tenfold. Our foreign debt maximum is currently set at $67 billion, and this government wants to borrow even more.

“Our children will have to pay back debts they did not accrue or gain from as a result of this careless borrowing, which is done year after year without any intention of returning it or making an attempt to spend it wisely.

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“Debt has kept growing, yet infrastructure has remained inadequate, hospitals are still ill-equipped, universities are still woefully underfunded, and the electrical supply is still subpar. What are the precise purposes of these loans, then? Nigerians anticipate that the National Assembly will ask this question. Instead, it has persisted in authorizing these loans without raising difficult issues, requesting a strategy, or advocating for the Nigerian people.

The Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria claims that Tinubu’s borrowing costs are already destroying the foundation of our economy. Credit is no longer available to small enterprises. Investors are retreating as their confidence wanes. Furthermore, because debt service now accounts for more than 60% of our national GDP, the government is taxing regular Nigerian families excessively.

“The recent devaluation of the naira should have reduced the need for external borrowing, but the government has treated it as an excuse to borrow even more,” the ADC said, adding that the APC is taking out additional loans while other nations are working to reduce their debts.

Asserting that Nigerians have a right to know the conditions, interest rates, repayment schedules, and ultimate recipients of the loans, the party has called for a complete disclosure of all loan agreements signed by the APC and the Tinubu administration during the previous 10 years.

The ADC urged President Tinubu to stop this fiscal irresponsibility and instead concentrate on substantive transformation by making prudent investments and spending sensibly. It further stated that the days of borrowing to cover policy failures must end.