APM urges World Bank to withhold $1.5bn loan to Nigeria - Punch Newspapers
The Allied Peoples Movement has called on the World Bank and other international lenders to withhold fresh loans to the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, citing concerns over Nigeria’s rising debt profile and the proposed $1.5bn credit facility. APM, in a statement released by its National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, on Tuesday, said the Tinubu administration had accumulated over N166.7tn in debt while continuing to borrow despite revenue from the removal of the petrol subsidy. PUNCH Online exclusively reported on Monday that the Federal Government is in talks with the World Bank to secure three new loans worth a combined $1.5bn, as Nigeria’s public debt rose to a record N166.79tn by the end of June 2026. According to World Bank documents, the proposed facilities comprise $500m each for climate resilience, social protection and early childhood development. The first, an additional $500m financing for the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes project, is scheduled for consideration by the World Bank board on October 29, 2026.See more Punch stories on Google.Add Punch on Google Reacting, APM argued that further borrowing could worsen the economic hardship faced by Nigerians and weaken the country’s productive sector. The opposition party stated, “The Allied Peoples Movement has entreated the World Bank and other international lenders to protect the interests of over 200 million Nigerians by withholding fresh loans from the ‘squandermaniac’ All Progressives Congress administration led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. “The APM strongly condemns the attempt by President Tinubu to further mortgage the future of millions of Nigerians with a fresh $1.5bn credit from the World Bank, even when his administration does not have any clear-cut strategy to pay back the over N166.7 trillion debt accumulated under his watch. “It is unacceptable that, even with the trillions of naira derived from the removal of the subsidy on petrol, the Tinubu administration is engaged in its morbid appetite for borrowing, with nothing to show apart from weakening the value of the naira, thereby crippling our productive sector and reducing the purchasing power of the average Nigerian. New Kano lawmaker pledges not to be bench warmer VIDEO: 70-year-old ex-Kogi senator Ocheja marries new wife 2027: Oyebanji, PDP’s Oluyede rally support for Tinubu in Ekiti “It is distressing that whereas the APC administration always claims that the loans are for plausible causes, most of the funds are diverted to the private pockets of a corrupt cabal while Nigerians continue to struggle with collapsed infrastructure and unemployment, with over 140 million citizens unable to afford their daily meals.” APM said Nigerians had faced severe economic hardship since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in 2023, citing rising taxes and the cost of electricity, transportation, food, healthcare and other basic necessities. The party also cited the World Food Programme’s assessment that about 35 million Nigerians are expected to face acute food insecurity in 2026, highlighting the scale of the country’s food crisis. It added, “It is most disturbing is that, in the face of President Tinubu’s calamitous misrule, which has plunged our nation into misery and a “dark tunnel of uncertainty”, the APC is arrogantly bandying false performance claims and even has the temerity to be contesting the 2027 presidential election. “It is clear that the APC is mistaking the patience and level of tolerance of Nigerians as a sign of weakness, perhaps believing that they have been conquered. The APC must be made to understand that they are pushing Nigerians to the precipice and there is a limit to which a people can stomach under such circumstances. “The APM, as a party committed to the well-being of Nigerians, restates its call to international financial bodies, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other international lenders such as China, the United States, among others, not to give any fresh credit to the Tinubu administration, as such is not in the general interest of our nation. “Nigerians have reached unanimity to vote out the Tinubu-led APC administration in January 2027. Such an ‘outgoing’ administration should not be entrusted with any credit facility on behalf of our nation.” APM said its presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, would prioritise transparency, fiscal discipline, productive investment and efficient use of public resources if elected in 2027. Abdulrahman Zakariyau Abdulrahman is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with nearly a decade of professional experience covering political parties, elections, religion, civil society organizations, and the Nigeria Governors Forum. He is also a development and strategic communication expert, skilled at analyzing complex issues and delivering impactful narratives. Abdulrahman’s reporting reflects extensive newsroom experience, editorial judgment, and a strong commitment to informative and insightful journalism.
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