Umeh asks 'where has the money gone?' as Tinubu seeks $20.5bn fresh loan
- President Tinubu has asked the National Assembly to approve $20.5 billion and €1.45 billion in new external loans.
- Senator Victor Umeh questioned how past loans were spent, saying budgets remain unfunded and contractors unpaid.
- Umeh predicted lawmakers will approve the request because ruling party members outnumber the opposition.
President Bola Tinubu has written to the National Assembly seeking approval for a fresh external borrowing plan of $20.5 billion and €1.45 billion for 2026–2027, and the request is already drawing hard questions from the opposition.
The letter was read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday. According to the government, the loans would fund critical infrastructure, agriculture, education and other key sectors.
But Senator Victor Umeh, who represents Anambra Central, wants answers on how previous loans were spent. He spoke on Channels Television's Politics Today on Tuesday evening.
Umeh said the Senate had approved large borrowings in the past, each time with the promise that the money would fund the budget. Yet, he said, those budgets remain unfunded and contractors handling capital projects are still owed.
"If you borrow to finance a budget and you are not able to finance that budget, where has the money gone to?"
He also noted that three budgets are running at the same time, which he said makes the funding gap harder to explain to ordinary Nigerians.
Why it matters
Nigeria's debt burden is a kitchen-table issue. More borrowing means more of the country's earnings go to servicing loans, money that could otherwise go to roads, schools, health centres and power.
Umeh's question is one many Nigerians are asking: if loans were approved to fund the budget, why are projects still unpaid and unfinished?
The sources differ slightly on the euro figure. Channels TV and Naija News reported €1.45 billion, while Daily Post put it at €1.04 billion. The dollar figure, $20.5 billion, is the same across all three.
What happens next
Umeh expects the request to pass anyway. He argued that opposition lawmakers will be outvoted by members of the ruling party, which holds the majority in the National Assembly.
For now, the borrowing plan sits before lawmakers, and the debate over how past loans were used is likely to follow it through the approval process.
