YPP's Agada asks National Assembly to hold back Tinubu's $21.7bn loan request
- Peter Agada of the Young Progressives Party wants lawmakers to pause the borrowing plan until after the 2027 elections.
- He says the money could reach the incumbent before the vote and asks for a no-disbursement window from January to May 2027.
- The request covers $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion for roads, power, health, schools, water and security.
The presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Peter Agada, has asked the National Assembly to delay a fresh external borrowing plan put forward by President Bola Tinubu until after the 2027 general elections.
Tinubu's letter, read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio at Tuesday's plenary, seeks approval for $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion under a 2026–2027 supplementary external borrowing plan. The President said the funds would go into infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, water supply and security, with projects spread across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Agada, an architect, made his case in Abuja on Wednesday and in a statement reported by The Sun. He put the combined request at about $21.7 billion.
What Agada is asking for
His central demand is a condition on the loan: if lawmakers approve it, no money should be released between January and May 2027. He argued that the winner of the election, not the sitting government, should receive the funds.
"That is how you prove it is not political," he said.
He also wants lawmakers to insist on a project-by-project list, showing which road or hospital sits in which ward, rather than a broad sector breakdown. And he wants an audited account of how past borrowing has been spent, including the $2.347 billion he said was borrowed in October 2025 and projects carried out since 2023.
Agada questioned whether any large project could be finished in the short time left before the vote, and asked what the money would actually pay for.
The money argument
He cited Nigeria's public debt of ₦166.79 trillion as of June 2026, debt-servicing obligations of ₦15.81 trillion and a fiscal deficit of ₦31.46 trillion. He said capital spending has stayed below 40 per cent of budget and that contractors are owed.
He also asked why borrowing continues at the same pace after the petrol subsidy was removed and the naira floated, moves he said tripled government revenue. "Where did the subsidy savings go?" he asked.
Instead of new loans, Agada proposed savings of more than ₦13 trillion a year. His ideas include cutting the cost of governance by 40 per cent, merging about 250 agencies into 40, trimming official fleets and trips, dealing directly with contractors instead of middlemen, and auditing waivers, tax incentives and Ways and Means advances.
He used an architect's image to make his point: you do not add weight to a pillar that has already failed; you repair it first.
What happens next
The decision rests with the National Assembly, which must approve the borrowing request. Neither the Presidency nor the Senate has responded to Agada's proposals, and it is not yet clear whether lawmakers will attach any conditions to the loan.