The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has challenged President Bola Tinubu to identify tangible projects delivered by his administration with the loans accumulated since assuming office in May 2023.
The party accused the government of accumulating debts without delivering commensurate infrastructure and economic benefits to Nigerians, arguing that citizens have little to show for the country’s growing debt burden.
The debate over government borrowing has intensified, with the Tinubu administration and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) defending loans as necessary to finance infrastructure development and address the country’s developmental challenges.
However, opposition parties and other Nigerians have questioned whether the projects being executed by the government are commensurate with the amount borrowed, demanding greater transparency over how the funds have been utilised and the benefits they have delivered.
The ADC Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) stated its position in a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, and issued in Abuja on Friday.
The statement was a response to comments by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who had defended government borrowing with the argument that the focus should be on what the country builds rather than how much it borrows.
But the ADC-PCC described the position as an insult to Nigerians, insisting that the administration had failed to demonstrate how its borrowing had translated into meaningful development.
Ologbondiyan alleged that the only visible project reflecting the President’s commitment to addressing the electricity crisis was a solar farm installed to guarantee power supply at the Presidential Villa, while millions of Nigerians continued to grapple with unreliable electricity.
“For three and a half wasted years, Tinubu government has borrowed without restraint and built nothing. No value, no legacy, no impact,” he said.
He argued that several projects being promoted by the administration were either inherited from the previous government or remained at the level of announcements and conceptual designs.
“Except for projects inherited from the late President Muhammadu Buhari, many of the projects being advertised by the Tinubu administration are nothing but audio projects. They exist only on paper, as conceptual designs or as announcements on newspaper pages and television screens.
“Under Tinubu, virtually every project exists in a press statement,” he added.
The ADC-PCC specifically questioned the progress of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway and Trans-Sahara Superhighway, as well as the promised upgrades to the national electricity grid.
It also cited the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Highway, arguing that its prolonged construction and delays remained a source of concern to motorists, despite the project having been awarded more than eight years ago.
The party maintained that the government’s emphasis on publicising infrastructure projects had not been matched by corresponding progress in tackling the country’s economic and security challenges.
Ologbondiyan said Nigerians were battling hunger, insecurity and worsening living conditions, while government ministries, departments and agencies struggled to discharge their responsibilities.
“Citizens are hungry and enduring excruciating hardship. People are dying from hunger, insecurity and deprivation, while the government remains preoccupied with propaganda and self-congratulatory statements,” he said.
He further accused the Tinubu administration of assuming office without a convincing blueprint or workable ideas, arguing that its record had been characterised by hardship, poverty and insecurity.
The campaign council challenged the President to identify at least one major project completed with loans obtained by his administration, apart from the alleged solar installation at the Presidential Villa.
It also appealed to international donors, development partners and financial institutions to exercise greater scrutiny before extending further loans to Nigeria.
According to the ADC-PCC, borrowing is not inherently wrong when funds are invested in projects that improve citizens’ living conditions. However, it argued that continued debt accumulation without demonstrable benefits raises serious questions about accountability and fiscal responsibility.
The council warned that future generations should not be left to bear the burden of debts incurred without corresponding benefits.
It also called on the National Assembly to exercise its constitutional oversight responsibilities by subjecting loan requests to proper scrutiny rather than approving them without adequate examination.
“History will not forgive the 10th National Assembly if it stands by while the country is plunged deeper into a cycle of unsustainable indebtedness,” Ologbondiyan said.