Opposition slams N’Assembly over N149tr debt as Abbas backtracks on warning, FG defends borrowing

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised the National Assembly and its leadership for what it described as hypocrisy over Nigeria’s rising debt profile, even as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, backtracked on his earlier warning that the nation faces a debt crisis.

The controversy comes amid concerns over Nigeria’s ballooning public debt, which stood at N149.39 trillion (about $97 billion) as of the first quarter of 2025, up from N121.7 trillion the previous year, according to official figures.

Abbas had initially raised alarm during the 11th Annual Conference and General Assembly of the West Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC) in Abuja, warning that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio had climbed to 52 per cent, breaching the statutory ceiling of 40 per cent.

However, the Speaker later clarified his position, stating that his comments were meant to encourage improved debt oversight across West Africa, not to suggest that Nigeria was in imminent danger. He maintained that the Tinubu administration’s borrowing was within a “manageable and sustainable framework.”

PDP accuses Abbas, Akpabio of hypocrisy

Before Abbas’ clarification, the PDP lashed out at him and Senate President Godswill Akpabio, accusing them of complicity in plunging Nigeria into a debt trap while posturing as concerned leaders.

PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, told reporters in Abuja that the National Assembly leadership lacked the moral standing to lament after approving virtually all of President Bola Tinubu’s borrowing requests.

“I am not surprised that Tajudeen Abbas, one of the sidekicks of President Tinubu, has been complicit in burying the economic fortunes of Nigeria beyond imaginable depth,” Osadolor said.

“He and his accomplice in borrowing approval, Godswill Akpabio, should bury their heads in shame when issues like this come up. Abbas cannot, on one hand, approve loans for Tinubu and, on the other, complain that the debt ceiling has been shattered. If he doesn’t have the moral spine to tell the President ‘no’, then he should resign,” he added.

The PDP chieftain also recalled that under former Senate President Bukola Saraki, the legislature resisted excessive borrowing by the Buhari administration, unlike what he called the current “rubber stamp” National Assembly.

FG defends borrowing plan

Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, dismissed fears of a debt crisis, insisting that ongoing fiscal reforms were making borrowing more sustainable.

“Government borrowing is tied to key infrastructure and economic reforms designed to boost productivity and revenue generation,” Edun said, stressing that recent measures, including subsidy removal and exchange rate reforms, were aimed at long-term stability.

The recent uproar followed the National Assembly’s approval of Tinubu’s external borrowing plan of over $21 billion for the 2025–2026 fiscal cycle, including $21.19 billion in foreign loans, €4 billion, ¥15 billion, a $65 million grant, and domestic borrowing of about N757 billion. The plan also authorises raising $2 billion through a foreign-currency-denominated instrument in the domestic market.