Former senator Dino Melaye has warned that Nigeria’s debt profile under President Bola Tinubu is spiraling out of control, alleging that the administration may soon resort to borrowing from fintech platforms such as Opay and Moniepoint.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE Television on Monday, Melaye accused the government of recklessness, saying despite securing billions of dollars in loans, Nigerians are experiencing “massive hunger in the land.”
“There is massive hunger in the land. Why is the president borrowing $1.7 billion from the World Bank? Why has the Senate approved $21 billion so far, with many more requests awaiting consideration?” he queried.
Melaye criticized Tinubu’s spending priorities, citing the controversial purchase of a presidential yacht. “The president who said he wanted to curb wastage bought a yacht. That yacht has never been to the perimeters or territorial waters of Nigeria—it’s been between Monaco and Paris. What do we need a yacht for in a time of austerity and pervasive hunger?” he said.
The former lawmaker further argued that no other president in Nigeria’s history has borrowed as much as Tinubu within such a short period. “If you are making more money, then why are you borrowing? We will not be surprised if the president starts borrowing from Opay and Moniepoint very soon,” he added.
His remarks come amid growing concerns over Nigeria’s debt burden. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) recently warned that the new wave of borrowing could push the country’s public debt beyond N200 trillion before the end of the year. In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party accused Tinubu of surpassing his predecessor by “mortgaging the country’s future in mountains of debt in the name of economic reform.”