The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) National Presidential Campaign Council has described President Bola Tinubu’s fresh $7.7 billion external loan request as sufficient reason for Nigerians to vote out the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the January 16, 2027 general election.
The campaign council urged Nigerians to use their votes to reject what it described as the Tinubu administration’s unsustainable borrowing practices and demand accountability, fiscal discipline and prudent management of public resources.
The spokesperson of the NDC National Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Constance Ikokwu, made the call in a statement issued on Thursday.
President Tinubu had requested the National Assembly’s approval for a fresh external borrowing plan of $7.7 billion, approximately N10.79 trillion, to finance the 2026 budget deficit.
Reacting to the development, the NDC described the latest request as another example of the administration’s growing dependence on borrowing, warning that the country’s rising debt burden was placing obligations on future generations.
The party, which is fielding Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as its presidential and vice-presidential candidates, respectively, called on Nigerians to vote massively for the ticket to rescue the country from what it described as a debt trap.
Ikokwu urged Nigerians to draw inspiration from Americans who participated in their November 4, 2026 elections, saying their turnout demonstrated the power of citizens to change their governments through the ballot.
She observed that Americans, like Nigerians, were grappling with high living costs and economic difficulties but had chosen to exercise their democratic rights rather than merely complain about their circumstances.
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, has already endorsed it.”
The NDC spokesperson, however, urged Nigerians not to despair, insisting that the ballot remained their most powerful instrument for changing the country’s political and economic direction.
“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,” she said.
The campaign council maintained that Nigeria’s economic future should not be mortgaged through unsustainable borrowing and mismanagement of public resources.
It therefore called on Nigerians to turn out in large numbers on January 16, 2027, to vote for Obi and Kwankwaso, saying the election presented an opportunity to elect a government that would prioritise citizens’ welfare and the responsible management of national resources.
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