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The Labour Party (LP) has called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to reject President Bola Tinubu’s latest loan requests, warning that Nigeria’s rising debt burden poses a serious threat to the country’s economic stability and future.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, LP’s Interim National Publicity Secretary, Tony Akeni, criticised the President’s push for fresh borrowing from the World Bank, despite alarming debt figures and worsening economic conditions.
“For Nigerians to appreciate Speaker Abbas’ sense of alarm, one must put in perspective the facts,” Akeni said, referencing the country’s escalating fiscal crisis.
He cited figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which show that in just the first three months of 2025, Nigeria’s total public debt jumped from ₦121.7 trillion in December 2024 to ₦149.39 trillion — a staggering increase that overshoots the 40 per cent debt-to-GDP threshold prescribed by the country’s fiscal laws.
“What is more frightening is that in the same three-month period, the debt-to-GDP ratio resulting from these debts rose to 52%, which is far above the highest safe limit of 40% set by Nigeria’s own fiscal laws,” Akeni noted.
The LP spokesperson also highlighted the disproportionate strain debt servicing is placing on the nation’s finances.
“What further worsens the alarming nature of the country’s debts is the revelation that in the last nine months, Nigeria used ₦8.93 trillion or $6.2 billion to service her debts,” he said. “This means that 61% of the country’s revenues of ₦14.55 trillion earned during the same period went into debt servicing!”
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Akeni also pointed to public comments by Speaker Abbas, saying the House leader himself could not downplay the severity of the situation.
“Choosing his words carefully for minimum image damage to his party, even Speaker Abbas could not escape admitting that this is an extreme breach of the debt ceiling and revenue security threshold set by Nigeria’s fiscal laws,” he said.
Akeni concluded by condemning President Tinubu’s pursuit of additional foreign loans at a time when inflation, poverty, and unemployment are worsening nationwide.
He argued that such borrowing signals a “tone-deaf” administration disconnected from the realities ordinary Nigerians face daily.
“President Tinubu’s request for fresh loans from the World Bank, amid soaring debt, inflation and grinding poverty, was proof that this administration was insensitive to sufferings of Nigerians,” Akeni said.
The Labour Party’s position comes as economic observers and civil society groups continue to express growing unease over Nigeria’s debt sustainability, urging for reforms in public spending and a halt to indiscriminate borrowing.
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