Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has sounded the alarm over Nigeria’s ballooning debt, warning that the country has breached its legal borrowing limit and risks sliding into fiscal instability.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday at the 11th Annual Conference of the West Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC), Abbas revealed that Nigeria’s public debt hit ₦149.39 trillion (US$97 billion) in the first quarter of 2025—up from ₦121.7 trillion a year earlier.
He noted that the debt-to-GDP ratio has now surged to 52 percent, well above the statutory ceiling of 40 percent.
“This sharp rise underscores how quickly the burden has grown. Even more concerning is that we are now above our own legal threshold,” Abbas said.
The Speaker described the breach as a red flag for fiscal sustainability, stressing the need for tighter oversight, transparent borrowing, and reforms to ensure loans fund productive investments.
Abbas cautioned that many African nations already spend more on debt servicing than on healthcare and basic services—a trap Nigeria must avoid.
To curb the risks, he unveiled plans for a West African Parliamentary Debt Oversight Framework under WAAPAC. The initiative will harmonize debt reporting, establish transparency standards, and provide parliaments with tools to scrutinize borrowing. A regional capacity-building programme will also strengthen debt sustainability analysis and fiscal risk assessment; The News Chronicle gathered.
He insisted that borrowing must be channelled into infrastructure, health, education, and job-creating industries, warning:
“Reckless debt driven by consumption or corruption must be rejected.”
Abbas reaffirmed the 10th House’s Open Parliament policy, pledging that major borrowing plans will face public hearings and that simplified debt reports will be shared with citizens to boost accountability.
