SERAP to Tinubu: Reject $24 Billion Loan or Push Nigeria into Debt Abyss
President Bola Tinubu’s latest move to secure a $24 billion foreign loan has ignited fierce pushback from Nigeria’s civic space. At the forefront is the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), calling on the National Assembly to reject the proposal outright. Their message is stark: if approved, Nigeria’s debt could balloon to ₦183 trillion, a fiscal weight the country may not survive.
National Debt: Growth Strategy or Generational Trap?
SERAP’s concerns aren’t new, but the scale of the loan proposal is unprecedented. With $21.5 billion sourced from external lenders and the rest from multilateral institutions, critics argue that Nigeria is on track to become Africa’s debt cautionary tale.
In a country where over 60% live below the poverty line, this kind of borrowing risks crowding out essential spending on healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Instead of fueling growth, the debt burden could cannibalize development itself through higher taxes, foreign dependency, and debt servicing obligations that swallow up national revenue.
Constitutional Constraints: Is Tinubu Overreaching?
At the heart of this storm lies a constitutional question: Can the president push forward massive borrowing without transparent frameworks and clear oversight?
SERAP argues that Nigeria’s constitution mandates that all borrowing must be:
- Clearly justified
- Transparently executed
- Accountable to the public
The National Assembly has both the power and the duty to halt spending plans that lack accountability or threaten fiscal stability. Should lawmakers approve the loan without thorough scrutiny, it opens the door to judicial intervention and possibly public legal action.
Political Chess: Will the Assembly Check the Presidency?
Rejecting the loan may signal a rare assertion of independence by the National Assembly. Political observers suggest that this is more than a fiscal debate it’s a test of institutional balance between Nigeria’s executive and legislative branches.
- If approved: It could be read as a blank check to Tinubu’s administration.
- If rejected: It sends a powerful message that financial recklessness won’t be rubber-stamped.
In either case, this episode will shape how Nigerians perceive the legitimacy of economic policy decisions in the post-Buhari era.
Public Sentiment: Scepticism Over Repeat Promises
Across Nigeria, public reaction to the $24 billion loan has been understandably sceptical. Many citizens point to past loans that:
- Promised infrastructure but delivered potholes
- Pledged jobs but delivered retrenchments
- Claimed transparency but ended in silence
The disconnect between borrowing and real-world improvement has widened the trust gap between the government and its people. SERAP’s intervention aligns with a fatigued populace weary of debts that never seem to solve the problems they’re meant to address.
Insight
This isn’t just about this loan it’s a teachable moment for governance.
What Nigeria Needs Now:
- Transparent accounting of how past loans were used
- Published plans for project-specific impact of any new borrowing
- Quarterly reporting to citizens on debt servicing and project execution
- A national conversation on what debt sustainability really looks like
SERAP’s message echoes what fiscal conservatives and development economists have been saying: debt isn’t inherently bad but borrowing without strategy is fiscal suicide.
Financial Juggernut Insight: Nigeria Must Borrow Smarter or Not at All
The warning from SERAP isn’t alarmist it’s a wake-up call.
As Nigeria balances its geopolitical ambitions with domestic instability, financial missteps like unchecked borrowing could erode both economic sovereignty and public trust. If Tinubu’s administration wants to borrow its way into growth, it must first borrow credibility from the people and that starts with transparency, strategy, and results.
Until then, the ₦183 trillion debt ceiling looks less like a development plan and more like a loaded gun pointed at the future.
