The ₦30-trillion-plus question now has a face and a demand: show Nigeria the repayment schedule. Paul Ibe, media aide to ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, has thrown down a detailed challenge to the $21.7 billion external borrowing plan President Tinubu sent to the National Assembly — and this time the opposition is not arguing slogans, it is demanding documents.
The Challenge, Point by Point
Writing on X, Ibe took direct aim at the Finance Minister’s framing of the package as investment rather than borrowing, arguing that whatever it is called, the funds must still be repaid with interest. His demands read like a due-diligence checklist: a breakdown of the 46 proposed projects across 11 sectors — costs, locations, implementing agencies, procurement records and completion schedules.
He went further into the fine print: the proposed $5 billion World Bank component reportedly carries an average interest rate of about 2.1 per cent, while the commercial component’s indicative average sits near 7.8 per cent — a spread that matters enormously to what the debt costs over its life. And he asked the question that headlines skip: how does Nigeria service these loans if oil earnings decline, the naira weakens, or the projects slip behind schedule? His words: “Nigerians understand the need for infrastructure. They also understand that an inflated contract, an abandoned project or an unrealistic revenue forecast can leave them paying for promises that never materialise. Calling debt an investment does not answer who will pay, how much, or for how long.”
| Ibe’s demand | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Full repayment schedule published | Shows who pays, when, for how long |
| Feasibility studies for major projects | Lagos–Calabar, Sokoto–Badagry, Kano–Kaduna rail |
| Check against existing budgets | Stop double-counting funded projects |
| Name the benefiting states and agencies | Pin the repayment obligations to owners |
The Politics and the Arithmetic
The intervention sharpens a debate this column opened when the request first landed — Tinubu asking the National Assembly for fresh $20.5bn and €1.04bn loans barely 110 days to the election. Ibe’s challenge to lawmakers is the procedural heart of it: he wants the National Assembly to demand the underlying documents and subject the plan to public scrutiny before any approval vote — not after.
The economic stakes are live, not theoretical: the naira is under pressure again, and every borrowing debate plays out on the same ledger as the currency’s recent two-day slide and the living costs households are absorbing. Meanwhile, the private capital the government wants to attract — the investor confidence story behind platforms like the Dangote Refinery IPO opened to retail investors — depends on exactly the transparency Ibe is demanding: creditors lend easier to countries whose books they can read.
What to Watch
The National Assembly’s next move is the tell: committee hearings with published project lists would answer Ibe the legitimate way; a voice vote on a Friday would answer him another way. Either way, the standard has been set — “investment” is now a claim that needs receipts.
