Nigeria must keep borrowing or face economic collapse - Orji Kalu warns

Amid growing public concern over Nigeria’s rising debt profile, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has issued a stark warning: without borrowing, the nation’s economy could collapse.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, June 2, the former Abia State governor defended the government’s borrowing strategy and pushed back against criticism that the National Assembly acts as a rubber stamp for executive loan requests.

“Let me tell you, if this economy does not borrow, it will collapse. That is the truth. That is where we are,” Kalu declared during the program.

His comments come as Nigeria plans to borrow an additional $26 billion between 2025 and 2026 to address budget deficits and stimulate economic growth—a move that has sparked debate over the country’s debt sustainability.

Nigeria recently cleared its $3.4 billion IMF Rapid Financing Instrument loan from the COVID-19 pandemic, but still pays about $30 million annually in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) charges.

Kalu, however, insisted that the National Assembly’s oversight function remains robust, despite accusations that lawmakers are failing to adequately scrutinise loan requests.

“Of course! The Committee on Foreign Debt and Local Debt scrutinises them. I’m not a member of that committee, but the National Assembly has done its job,” he said when asked if legislators scrutinise loan applications.

Brushing aside allegations of being a “rubber stamp” legislature, Kalu said the legislative process is thorough and that the Senate is not at odds with the executive.

“Any law or anything you see passed in the National Assembly has gone through the level it’s supposed to.

“Once it takes its course, I’m satisfied. That’s the definition of lawmaking,” he said

He further cited the recent passage of a tax bill as evidence of the Senate’s diligence.

“We are very thorough. People just want to see us fighting with the executive. We are adults. We cannot fight. For the interest of Nigeria, we have mechanisms to safeguard that.

“The day we passed the tax bill, I went to the Senate President’s house to congratulate him. It was a thorough job. All the evenings we were there—seven o’clock, six o’clock—we took it one by one. That’s not what a rubber stamp does,” he explained.

Kalu also acknowledged that many Nigerians remain mired in economic hardship, particularly since the removal of fuel subsidy in 2023 and the floating of the naira.

While expressing optimism about President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, he noted that ordinary Nigerians have yet to see tangible benefits.

“The macro side is coming, but the other downsides are not coming very well. Nigerians in the lower area are still suffering.

“They have not started having the benefit of the changes President Tinubu is making,” he said.

He attributed the slow pace of economic recovery to insecurity, which he said has hindered farming and other productive activities.

“It’s going to take another one to two years for the changes to come,” he predicted, adding that some officials working with Tinubu should be replaced to speed up progress.