The Labour Party (LP) has called on the leadership of the National Assembly to halt what it described as President Bola Tinubu’s reckless borrowing, warning that the trend poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s economic stability and the future of generations to come.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, LP urged the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, to rise above partisan loyalty and exercise their constitutional duty of checking the excesses of the executive arm of government.
According to the opposition party, Nigeria’s debt profile has already reached a dangerous threshold, with debt servicing consuming a large portion of national revenue and crowding out critical investment in infrastructure, education, and healthcare.
“President Tinubu has, in less than two years, approached the National Assembly for multiple loans running into billions of dollars. This reckless appetite for borrowing is unsustainable and will mortgage the future of Nigerians yet unborn,” the statement read.
LP insisted that rather than depending on foreign loans, the government should focus on cutting waste, plugging leakages, and implementing policies that will stimulate productivity, local investments, and job creation.
The party also challenged the lawmakers to demonstrate independence by refusing to rubber-stamp every borrowing request brought before them.
“It is time for Senate President Akpabio and Speaker Abbas to put the nation first. Nigerians did not elect them to be cheerleaders of the executive but to serve as watchdogs over the commonwealth,” LP added.
The party further warned that continued reliance on external debts could plunge the nation into a cycle of economic slavery, where decisions on national development would be dictated by creditors rather than Nigerians.
So far, the Tinubu administration has defended its borrowing policy, arguing that loans are necessary to fund key infrastructure projects and drive economic reforms. But with growing public discontent and pressure from the opposition, the debate over Nigeria’s rising debt burden is expected to dominate the political space in the months ahead.
