The Labour Party (LP) has urged Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to stop President Bola Tinubu’s borrowing plans.
According to the opposition party, Nigeria’s debt profile under the Tinubu-led administration has reached a dangerous level.
The Debt Management Office (DMO) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data show that the country’s public debt rose from N121.7 trillion in December 2024 to N149.39 trillion by March 2025.
This represents a debt-to-GDP ratio of 52 percent, far above the 40 percent ceiling set by Nigeria’s fiscal laws.
Despite this, Tinubu is seeking approval for a fresh World Bank loan.
Tony Akeni, interim national publicity secretary of LP, said the figures paint a grim picture of Nigeria’s fiscal health.
He said: “For Nigerians to appreciate Speaker Abbas’ sense of alarm, one must put in perspective the facts.
“In the first 90 days of this year alone, Nigeria’s public debts soared from N121.7 trillion to N149.39 trillion.
“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.”
He added that Nigeria spent N8.93 trillion ($6.2 billion) on debt servicing in the last nine months, amounting to 61 percent of the N14.55 trillion in revenue earned during the same period.
“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,” Akeni said.
The LP spokesperson described the move to seek fresh loans in the face of spiralling debt, inflation, and worsening poverty as “insensitivity to the suffering of the masses.”