Oshiomhole defends Tinubu’s borrowing plan, says loans will fund infrastructure

Adams Oshiomhole, the Senator representing Edo North, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s latest borrowing request, saying the proposed loans are intended to address Nigeria’s infrastructure deficits, not to pay salaries or fund recurrent expenditure.

Mr Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, said the proposed borrowing would help the government invest in critical infrastructure and stimulate economic growth.

He spoke during an interview on TVC’s Beyond the Headline, where he said the president’s request had been formally presented to the Senate and referred to the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for consideration.

Mr Oshiomhole argued that Nigeria needed sustained investment in infrastructure to achieve economic growth and break what he described as a vicious cycle of underdevelopment.

“I think this is what this additional payment is meant to address,” he said, defending the need for borrowing to finance projects the government could not immediately fund from available revenue.

He said Nigeria could not afford to delay essential investments until it had enough money to finance them entirely from its own resources.

“We are here now and we have to be able to borrow,” he said.

The senator also argued that Nigeria’s ability to access loans from foreign sources reflected some level of credibility, adding that borrowing in foreign currencies could help prevent local businesses from being crowded out of the domestic credit market.

He said the government had alternatives: abandon borrowing and slow infrastructure development or obtain long-term loans to finance projects that could expand the economy and generate the resources needed to repay the debt.

“Stop borrowing, stop development, stop funding infrastructure, keep lamenting what they’ve done there, or take the bold step, get long-term loans that are sustainable, grow the economy in a manner that it will generate enough prosperity to settle those loans,” he said.

Mr Oshiomhole stressed that the president’s letter made clear that the proposed loans were not intended to finance salaries, allowances or other recurrent expenses.

He, however, declined to pre-empt the Senate committee’s deliberations, saying the committee would examine the request and present its recommendations to the chamber for debate.

He expressed confidence that the Senate would support the proposal, arguing that lawmakers could not consistently complain about Nigeria’s poor road infrastructure while opposing borrowing intended to repair and expand the road network.

Mr Oshiomhole said Nigeria’s large landmass made it difficult to rely solely on road transportation and argued that infrastructure investment was necessary to connect economic zones, transport finished goods to consumers and move raw materials to industrial locations.

Oshiomhole replies Atiku

The senator also responded to criticism of the borrowing plan by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, saying the opposition politician was entitled to his opinion.

He said criticism of the government was part of democracy and that opposition lawmakers in the Senate should use their positions to seek explanations about the proposed loans.

Mr Oshiomhole said the government should provide comprehensive answers to questions raised about the borrowing plan but warned that such scrutiny should not obstruct development.

He added that borrowing was not new to Nigeria and said other countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, also faced debates over rising public debt.

The senator said he was familiar with discussions about public borrowing in other countries and maintained that governments had to make difficult economic decisions to meet their development needs.

He argued that opposition parties in Nigeria often rejected government policies even when they considered some aspects necessary, although he said he did not fault Atiku for questioning the proposal.

Mr Oshiomhole also defended his own record of speaking against government decisions when he disagreed with them, saying his loyalty to the ruling party did not prevent him from criticising policies he considered wrong.

He said accountability remained central to democracy and that the government had a responsibility to explain its intentions to Nigerians.

However, he maintained that the need for explanations should not delay governance or infrastructure development.

Power sector investment

Mr Oshiomhole said reliable electricity was particularly important to the Tinubu administration’s ambition to attract industries and revive manufacturing.

He argued that manufacturers would not return to Nigeria in significant numbers if they continued to depend on generators because of inadequate power supply.

The senator also questioned Atiku’s record on the privatisation of the power sector and criticised the handling of public funds allocated to electricity under the administration in which the former vice-president served.

Mr Oshiomhole alleged that $16 billion spent on the power sector during that period had not delivered the expected results.

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He argued that the current government was now faced with the need to borrow to address infrastructure problems that previous administrations had failed to resolve.

Comparing the proposed borrowing with the money spent on power under the former administration, he said inflation and changes in the value of money meant the proposed $22 billion was not worth as much in real terms as the $16 billion previously spent.

Mr Oshiomhole also cited China as an example of a country that achieved sustained economic growth through long-term infrastructure investment, including roads, railways and electricity.

He said such infrastructure was essential to reducing poverty and creating jobs.

The lawmaker said Nigeria’s central challenge is to create enough employment opportunities to ensure that citizens benefit from the economic reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration, which he said the opposition was seeking to reverse.