The member representing Enugu North and Enugu South Federal Constituency, Chimaobi Atu, defended the National Assembly’s consistent approval of loan requests from President Bola Tinubu’s administration this week, saying lawmakers were responding to the expectations of their constituents for development funding rather than rubber-stamping executive requests.
Atu’s remarks come amid mounting criticism of Nigeria’s rising public debt levels, including the IMF’s warning against a proposed five-billion-dollar financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank that the Senate approved in March. Critics argue that the National Assembly has provided insufficient scrutiny of executive borrowing requests throughout the Tinubu administration’s three years in office.
Lawmaker Cites Constituency Development Needs
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Atu said constituents in Enugu expect their representatives to support funding mechanisms that enable infrastructure and development projects, arguing that outright rejection of loan requests would deprive their communities of needed investment. He said lawmakers weigh each request on its individual merits rather than approving them automatically.
However, transparency advocates including CISLAC and Transparency International have separately called for greater scrutiny of public borrowing, urging stronger oversight of how loan proceeds are deployed and recovered. Bank lending to the federal government has risen sharply over the past 18 months, according to data reported earlier this month, intensifying debate about debt sustainability.
Debate Reflects Wider Fiscal Tensions
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Furthermore, Atiku Abubakar separately criticised the federal government’s proposed four trillion-naira power sector bond, demanding accountability for previous interventions before new borrowing proceeds. Consequently, public debt management remains one of the most contested fiscal issues in Nigerian politics as the country approaches the second half of 2026 and the ramp-up toward the 2027 election cycle.
