We Have Not Yet Started Borrowing Compared To Egypt, South Africa, or Even Senegal — Tinubu Defends Rising Loans
The Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has defended the Federal Government’s growing borrowing profile, insisting that Nigeria still has the capacity to take more loans compared to countries such as Egypt, South Africa and Senegal.
Onanuga made the remarks in a post on X in response to criticisms of Nigeria’s rising debt burden under the Tinubu administration.
According to him, many Nigerians raising the alarm about the country’s loans lack proper understanding of economics and public finance.
“Nigeria has not over borrowed compared to countries like Egypt, South Africa and West African country of Senegal,” Onanuga wrote.
“Nigeria is credit worthy and can still take more loans to finance infrastructure. The unwarranted alarm against loans is symptomatic of economic and financial ignorance.”
The presidential aide was responding to another X user, Akinwumi, who compared Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio with those of Egypt and South Africa.
According to the post, Egypt’s total debt is estimated at over $400 billion with a GDP of around $390 billion, placing its debt-to-GDP ratio above 100 percent.
It added that South Africa’s debt stands at about $580 billion with a GDP estimated at roughly $420 billion, amounting to about 135 percent debt-to-GDP ratio.
In contrast, Nigeria’s total public debt was estimated at about $110 billion with a GDP of around $340 billion, translating to roughly 35 percent debt-to-GDP ratio.
“Yet some people keep shouting that Nigeria is the ‘loan capital of the world,’” the post added.
The comments come amid mounting public concerns over the Tinubu administration’s continued borrowing despite worsening economic hardship across the country.
Since assuming office in May 2023, the Tinubu government has secured and proposed several local and foreign loans aimed at financing infrastructure, stabilising the economy and addressing budget deficits.
The Nigerian Government recently sought fresh multibillion-dollar external loans from international financial institutions, including the World Bank and the African Development Bank, while also increasing domestic borrowing through bonds and treasury instruments.
The government has argued that the loans are necessary to fund critical sectors such as power, transportation, agriculture and social interventions.
However, critics have continued to warn about Nigeria’s rising debt servicing costs, inflation and the weakening value of the naira.
