BY BEN OGBEMUDIA

The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) on Thursday urged the National Assembly to reject President Bola Tinubu’s request for an additional $21.5 million and ¥15 billion in external loans under the 2025–2026 borrowing plan.

The party’s National Chairman, Falalu Bello, made the call in a statement in Abuja.

He lamented that the Tinubu administration is mortgaging Nigeria’s future with the recent quest to access external loans.

Bello said the PRP is not only disappointed but alarmed by the trajectory the country is taking under President Tinubu in the last two years of his administration.

The statement read: “The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) is profoundly alarmed and deeply disappointed by the current trajectory of Nigeria’s reckless borrowing spree under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“As Nigeria’s total public debt soars to an unprecedented N144.7 trillion (approximately $94.2 billion), with nearly half of it external, the nation’s future is increasingly being mortgaged to foreign creditors — all while the citizenry continues to suffer from neglect, poverty, infrastructural decay, and insecurity.

 “It is utterly unacceptable that President Tinubu, instead of prioritizing tangible developmental projects and transparency, now seeks an additional $21.5 million and ¥15 billion in external loans, along with a €65 million grant, under the guise of the 2025–2026 borrowing plan.

“This request, coming at a time when Nigeria’s debt servicing costs have skyrocketed to N13.12 trillion in 2024 alone — a staggering 68% increase from the previous year — exemplifies a government that is clearly out of touch with the realities of its people and the perilous state of our economy.

“The PRP vehemently condemns this incessant borrowing without accountability or visible results. Most of these loans are allegedly embezzled by officials in the current administration, further impoverishing the nation and burdening posterity with irredeemable debts.

“Instead of channeling borrowed funds into meaningful infrastructural development, social investments, or economic diversification, the government continues to squander Nigeria’s future on frivolous projects and opaque contracts.

“In this context, it is noteworthy that, despite the alarming debt figures, the National Assembly recently inserted 11,122 projects worth N6.93 trillion into the 2025 national budget. While this may appear as an effort to address national needs, the significant question remains: how many of these projects will be genuinely implemented and effectively serve the Nigerian people?”