Protesters on Thursday stormed the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja, calling on the Federal Government to end its continued reliance on borrowing to finance development projects in Nigeria.
The demonstration was organised by a coalition comprising ActionAid Nigeria, market women, university students and other civil society groups. The protesters gathered at the ministry’s gate to express concerns over the country’s rising debt burden and the impact of government borrowing on citizens.
The demonstrators urged the Federal Government to reconsider plans for additional borrowing and appealed to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stop granting further loans to Nigeria.
They also called on the international financial institutions to “let Nigeria breathe,” arguing that continued accumulation of debt could increase the financial burden on Nigerians.
According to the protesters, Nigeria’s debt situation cannot be separated from the economic challenges facing households and businesses across the country.
They urged the government to explore alternative sources of financing, strengthen domestic revenue generation and implement policies capable of reducing economic pressure on citizens.
The protest comes amid an ongoing debate over Nigeria’s borrowing strategy and the role of international development financing.
In August, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, criticised Nigerians who attacked the World Bank on social media over its continued lending to Nigeria.
Oyedele said the backlash reflected a lack of understanding of how international development financing works. He disclosed that some Nigerians had visited the World Bank’s social media platforms to condemn its approval of loans to Nigeria, prompting the institution to disable comments.
Using an automated teller machine (ATM) as an analogy, the minister explained that people could wrongly direct their anger at a system without understanding how it operates.
“If you don’t understand how the system works, you waste energy,” Oyedele said, stressing that economic knowledge was important for citizens seeking to hold the government accountable.
The minister had also acknowledged in May that Nigeria needed to reduce its dependence on borrowing by strengthening its fiscal system and improving domestic revenue generation.
Meanwhile, the World Bank continues to support projects and programmes in Nigeria covering areas including electricity, social protection, education, healthcare and economic reforms.
In July, the Federal Government launched World Bank-backed programmes valued at $3.05 billion, targeting vulnerable communities, human capital development and social protection.
The Federal Government has maintained that external financing is tied to specific development programmes and objectives rather than being obtained without defined purposes.
The Abuja demonstration has nevertheless renewed public debate over Nigeria’s debt burden, government borrowing and the long-term sustainability of financing development through loans.
