The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of running what it described as a “Ponzi economy” due to the rising level of national debt and continued borrowing by the federal government.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the allegation in a statement issued on Thursday.
The ADC expressed concern over the government’s recent request for a fresh 1.25 billion dollars World Bank loan, coming shortly after the National Assembly approved another round of external borrowing amounting to several billions of dollars.
According to the party, Nigerians are becoming poorer despite the government’s increasing reliance on loans.
“Today, Nigeria’s total public debt has risen to about N159.28 trillion, yet 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.
“Families are cutting down on meals, manufacturers are struggling to survive, and small businesses are collapsing under the weight of inflation and poor economic conditions.
“This is why we say that 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.
“It is noteworthy that President Bola Tinubu himself has declared that Nigeria will spend about 11.6 billion dollars, over N15 trillion, on debt servicing alone in 2026.
“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 said.
