‎By Teddy Nwanunobi

‎Following the Federal Government’s move to seek an additional $1.25 billion loan from the World Bank, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of “running a Ponzi economy.”

‎Criticising the Federal Government over Nigeria’s rising debt profile, the opposition party noted that “new loans are constantly being taken to service old debts and cover fiscal failures, while ordinary Nigerians are left to carry the burden.”

‎Daily Newscraft reports that the request for an additional $1.25 billion loan is coming weeks after the National Assembly approved fresh external borrowing requests running into billions of dollars.

‎In a statement issued on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the country’s debt burden had become alarming, warning that the growing dependence on loans was worsening economic hardship for ordinary Nigerians.

‎According to him, Nigeria’s total public debt has climbed to about N159.28 trillion, while inflation, unemployment, insecurity and cost of living continue to rise across the country.

‎“At this point, Nigerians must ask a simple question: if this government keeps borrowing trillions of naira every few months, why are Nigerians getting poorer, and why is life getting harder for the majority?

‎“Today, food prices continue to rise daily, electricity tariffs are increasing, the naira remains weak, businesses are shutting down, insecurity is spreading, and millions of young Nigerians remain unemployed.

‎“This is why the ADC says the Tinubu administration is running a Ponzi economy, where new loans are constantly being taken to service old debts and cover fiscal failures, while ordinary Nigerians are left to carry the burden,” the statement read.

‎The party also expressed concern over the growing cost of debt servicing, noting that Tinubu had projected that Nigeria would spend about $11.6 billion, estimated at over N15 trillion, on debt servicing in 2026 alone.

‎“In simple terms, trillions of naira that should have gone into roads, hospitals, schools, electricity, security, agriculture and job creation will instead go into paying creditors and servicing old loans,” the statement added.