Abbas Tajudeen, Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, has said that the legislature stands firmly behind President Bola Tinubu’s borrowing strategy, describing it as critical for financing infrastructure and stimulating economic growth.
Delivering a keynote address at the 8th Annual African Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices (AN-PBO) Conference in Abuja, Abbas stressed that recent reports suggesting otherwise had misrepresented the House’s position on Government borrowing.
The conference, hosted by the National Assembly and the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO), was held under the theme: “The Role of PBOs in African Parliaments’ Fiscal Oversight: Contribution to the African 2063 Development Agenda.”
Abbas’s remarks followed comments attributed to him at the 11th Annual Conference and General Assembly of the West Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC), organised by the House Committee on Public Accounts.
In that address, read on his behalf by Julius Ihonvbere, the House Leader, Abass had warned that Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio had risen to 52%, surpassing the 40% statutory limit, and urged parliaments across West Africa to strengthen oversight of public borrowing.
Speaking on Monday, however, Abbas explained that the National Assembly has always supported responsible and targeted borrowing to address Nigeria’s pressing developmental priorities.
“Recently, a speech delivered by the House Leader at the West Africa Parliamentary Conference was horrendously and mischievously reported out of context, creating the false impression that the House of Representatives does not support the borrowing strategy of President Tinubu’s administration. We should state clearly that this interpretation is both inaccurate and misleading”, he said.
He emphasised that strategic borrowing remains an indispensable fiscal tool. “Like every modern economy, Nigeria must sometimes leverage credit to finance critical infrastructure, stimulate growth and protect vulnerable populations,” he noted, adding that under Tinubu’s leadership, borrowed funds are being channelled towards transformative projects in power, transport and agriculture, rather than consumption.
The Speaker also highlighted the scale of financial leakages, disclosing that Nigeria loses an estimated $18 billion annually to financial crimes, equivalent to 3.8 per cent of GDP. He warned that across Africa, corruption, illicit financial flows and inefficiencies drain more than $587 billion each year.
“Africa is at a crucial crossroads in its history, with a population of 1.4 billion people, roughly one-sixth of humanity,” he said. “Nigeria, with over 200 million people and a GDP of around $477 billion in 2022, carries a special responsibility in this African story. Yet, despite abundant resources and talented youth, poverty and unemployment remain widespread. Each year, 12 million young Africans enter the labour market, yet only 3 million formal jobs are created.”
He stressed that if effectively managed, redirected resources could expand social infrastructure, including better schools across the continent.
Also speaking at the conference, Dumisani Jantjies, AN-PBO Chairperson cautioned that African economies remain highly exposed to external shocks such as volatile capital flows, trade disruptions and climate change.
He underlined the growing importance of Parliamentary Budget Offices in strengthening fiscal transparency, accountability and policy alignment with the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Jantjies commended Nigeria’s macroeconomic reforms, noting that GDP growth reached 3.4% in 2024, the highest in a decade.
However, he warned that inflation and poverty remain persistent threats. “Our mandate is to provide legislatures with credible, non-partisan, evidence-based analysis to enable informed fiscal decisions,” he said.
