A civil tech platform, Citizen Monitors on Sunday, called on the federal government to ensure transparency, enhanced debt-risk controls and citizen-level tracking of project results amidst the country’s rising debt burden.
A press statement signed by the spokesperson for the tech platform, Olajumoke Alawode-James, on Sunday, gave the advice following the Senate’s approval of the 2025-2026 external borrowing plan of $21.5 billion presented by Mr Tinubu for consideration.
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The statement stressed the importance of Nigerians to “have a clear view of what is borrowed, on what terms and for what outcomes.”
“Debt isn’t the enemy, opacity is…if loans are truly for classrooms, clinics, power and jobs, then publish the term sheets, publish the project milestones and let citizens see the outputs, month by month,” the statement quoted the the co-founder of Citizen Monitors, Adeshope Haastrup, as saying.
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On 22 July, the Senate approved the 2025-2026 external borrowing plan of $21.5 billion. According to President Bola Tinubu, the loan request was aimed at funding various critical national development projects across key sectors of the economy. He also said the borrowing plan was in accordance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 and the Debt Management Office (DMO) Act of 2003.
The Citizen Monitors also noted that its call for transparency follows recent lender actions recalled the World Bank approvals for Nigeria of $2.25 billion and $1.08 billion. $254.76 million from China Development Bank for Kano-Kaduna rail and China Exim-backed road finance approvals.
In June 2024, the World Bank approved the $2.25 billion loan for Nigeria to aid in stabilising its economy amid reforms and enhancing support for the impoverished. In April 2025, it approved an additional $1.08bn to support education, nutrition, and economic resilience in Nigeria.
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As the tech platform called for transparency, it stated that it was ready to help. “Give the public data and we’ll provide the dashboard. Every kilometre of road, every classroom, every megawatt built with borrowed funds should be visible and verifiable,” it stated.
Nigeria’s debt profile
According to Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO), as of 31 December 2024, Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N144.7 trillion (approximately $94.2 billion). About 51.4 per cent of the total (N74.4 trillion) is domestic debt, while 48.6 per cent (N70.3 trillion) is external debt.
The rising debt has resulted in increased debt servicing costs. In 2023, Nigeria spent N7.8 trillion on debt servicing, a 121 per cent increase when compared to N3.52 trillion in the previous year.
The amount spent on debt servicing rose to N13.12 trillion in 2024, a 68 per cent increase from the 2023 figure. These high debt servicing costs mean less funds for important sectors such as infrastructure and social services, potentially hindering economic growth and development.
Six actions needed to rebuild public trust
Amidst criticisms of Nigeria’s rising debt burden, the Citizen Monitors proposed six immediate actions to rebuild trust.
This includes a call for the publishing of non-confidential loan terms and project annexes for every new facility, quarterly.
It also demamded machine-readable debt data, project dashboards for loans; open contracting and independent monitors for all loan-funded procurement; clear public notes on community-backed and para-sovereign deals, and cap non-concessional FX borrowing and disclose hedging risk policy.
READ ALSO: WASSCE 2025: WAEC withholds results of sponsored students due to states’ indebtedness
Opposition criticises loan request
In June, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) criticised Tinubu’s Administration for requesting to borrow $21.5 million and ¥15 billion, as well as obtaining a €65 million grant from international financial institutions, describing the move as contradictory and detrimental to Nigeria’s economic future.
Similarly, on 30 July, the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, lamented that Nigeria’s debt was unsustainable. Mr Obi said Mr Tinubu’s government had been on a borrowing spree over the last two years.
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