NDC: Tinubu’s Fresh $7.7bn Loan Request Makes 2027 Election Critical

**…**Opposition party urges Nigerians to vote massively for Obi, Kwankwaso on January 16

…Accuses National Assembly of endorsing borrowing requests without scrutiny

…Says growing debt burden threatens future generations

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has intensified its campaign against the federal government’s borrowing policy, declaring that President Bola Tinubu’s latest request for a $7.7 billion external loan has made the 2027 general election a defining moment for Nigeria’s economic future.

The opposition party has urged Nigerians to vote massively for its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, on January 16, 2027, arguing that the country’s mounting debt obligations, fiscal challenges and alleged mismanagement of public resources require a change of leadership.

The party’s position followed President Tinubu’s latest request to the National Assembly for approval of a $7.7 billion external borrowing plan, equivalent to approximately N10.79 trillion, to finance the 2026 budget deficit.

Describing the latest request as another addition to what it called the president’s borrowing spree, the NDC questioned the sustainability of the federal government’s debt strategy and accused the National Assembly of failing to subject loan requests to adequate legislative scrutiny.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Spokesperson of the NDC National Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Constance Ikokwu, said Nigerians must use the forthcoming elections to demand accountability, fiscal discipline and responsible management of public resources.

Ikokwu described the latest borrowing request as another indication of the government’s growing dependence on external loans, warning that the consequences of accumulating debt would extend beyond the present administration to generations yet unborn.

She said the party’s appeal for massive voter participation was inspired partly by the November 4, 2026 elections in the United States, where citizens demonstrated the power of electoral participation in determining the direction of governance.

According to her, Nigerians facing similar economic pressures, rising living costs and hardship should not surrender to frustration or political apathy but should recognise their votes as the most effective instrument for changing the country’s leadership.

She said, “Truly, it seems that right now, we cannot stop President Tinubu from his One Week! New Loan! One Week! New Loan! borrowing spree, which is already hitting the roof, because, regrettably, he has pocketed the National Assembly.

“We seem to have a rubber-stamp legislature that before a loan request formally gets to its desk, it has already been endorsed.”

The NDC spokesperson, however, maintained that Nigerians still had the opportunity to reverse the country’s economic direction through the ballot, insisting that electoral participation remained critical to holding political leaders accountable.

She added, “But Nigerians should not despair. The ballot remains our most powerful instrument of change.

“We appeal to citizens to use their votes to rescue the country from this debt trap and entrust its future to a government committed to transparency, accountability and prudent management of public resources.

The party specifically urged Nigerians to support the Obi-Kwankwaso presidential ticket, arguing that the 2027 election should provide an opportunity to install a government that would prioritise citizens’ welfare, fiscal responsibility and transparency in public expenditure.

It also warned against what it described as the mortgaging of Nigeria’s economic future through unsustainable borrowing and the mismanagement of public resources.

The NDC’s intervention has placed the federal government’s borrowing strategy at the centre of its emerging campaign narrative ahead of the January 2027 presidential election, with the opposition seeking to make debt accumulation, economic management and legislative accountability major issues for voters.