JUST IN: Protest Rocks Abuja Over Federal Government Borrowing

Protesters have stormed the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja, demanding an end to the Federal Government’s continued reliance on borrowing to finance development in the country.

The demonstration brought together ActionAid Nigeria, market women, university students and other civil society groups, who gathered at the ministry’s gate to raise concerns over Nigeria’s growing debt stock and the impact of government borrowing on citizens.

The protesters called on the Federal Government to reconsider plans for additional borrowing and urged the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stop extending further loans to Nigeria.

They also appealed to the international financial institutions to “let Nigeria breathe,” arguing that continued accumulation of debt could place a heavier financial burden on Nigerians.

The demonstrators said the country’s debt situation could not be viewed separately from the economic difficulties confronting households and businesses. They therefore urged the government to look beyond borrowing and develop alternative sources of financing while prioritising policies that would ease economic pressure on citizens.

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 decision to continue lending to Nigeria.

Oyedele said the backlash reflected a lack of understanding of how international development financing operates. He disclosed that some Nigerians had gone to the World Bank’s social media platforms to condemn the institution for approving loans to Nigeria, leading to the comment section being disabled.

“People went to the social media account of the World Bank to go and be abusing them that they’re giving Nigeria loan. World Bank just switch off the comments. We’ve gotten the loan because that’s not how the system works,” he said.

The minister used an automated teller machine (ATM) as an analogy to explain his position, saying people who did not understand how a system worked could wrongly direct their anger at the wrong target.

“Some people who have no knowledge of how it works. They said why is government allowing some people withdraw money here and they’re not giving to the rest of us,” Oyedele said.

He continued with the analogy by describing a situation in which people could mobilise against an ATM because they wanted access to money without understanding that funds first had to be available in the bank.

“So some leaders emerged from their group and said this is not fair government has to and then they went and destroyed the ATM, beat up some other people withdrawing money there and they were hailing their hero,” he said.

Oyedele added, “Yes, let everybody withdraw money from the ATM. They haven’t put money in the bank.”

He said destroying the ATM would not create the funds being demanded, stressing that the problem could not be solved by attacking the system through which money was accessed.

“After breaking the bank and the ATM and beating people up, they still can’t collect money ’cause that’s not how the system works,” he said.

The minister said the same principle applied to public discussions about the economy, stressing that citizens needed accurate information about government institutions and financial processes before deciding how to challenge policies.

“If you don’t understand how the system works, you waste energy,” Oyedele said.

He also linked economic knowledge to citizens’ ability to demand accountability from government.

“Part of your ability to hold government to account is having the right knowledge. If you don’t, you’re wasting your energy,” he said.

In May, the finance minister had also acknowledged the need for Nigeria to reduce its dependence on borrowing. He said the country needed to strengthen its fiscal system and improve domestic revenue generation so that infrastructure and other government priorities could be financed more sustainably.

The World Bank, meanwhile, continues to support projects and programmes in Nigeria covering areas such as electricity, social protection, education, healthcare and economic reforms.

In July, the Federal Government launched World Bank-backed programmes valued at $3.05 billion, with the initiatives targeted at vulnerable communities, human capital development and social protection.

The government has maintained that external financing is connected to specific programmes and development objectives rather than being obtained without defined purposes.