By Balarabe Alkassim, Abuja
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajuddeen, has stated that the National Assembly has consistently supported responsible and targeted borrowings by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu which are meant to meet Nigeria’s pressing developmental needs.
He stated this in a keynote address at the 8th Annual African Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices Conference held in Abuja on Monday, hosted by the Nigerian National Assembly and the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) titled, “The Role of PBOs in African Parliaments’ Fiscal Oversights: Contribution to the African 2063 Development Agenda”.
According to the speaker, strategic and responsible borrowing is an essential fiscal tool, saying that Nigeria must sometimes leverage credit to finance critical infrastructure, stimulate growth, and protect vulnerable populations.
He assured that all borrowings under President Tinubu’s administration are designed to be transparent, sustainable, and in line with Nigeria’s medium-term debt strategy and global best practices.
He however maintained that the recent House’s position on government borrowing was misrepresented when he was misquoted in his speech at the 11th Annual Conference and General Assembly of the West Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC), organised by the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee.
He noted that in his speech read by the House Leader, Prof Julius Ihonvbhere, at the earlier conference, he warned that the nation’s debt-to-GDP ratio had climbed to 52 per cent, surpassing the 40 per cent statutory limit which prompted his call on parliaments across West Africa to strengthen oversight of public borrowing to safeguard the future of their citizens.
Speaker Abbas said his speech was mischievously reported out of context, creating the false impression that the House of Representatives does not support the borrowing strategy of President Tinubu administration.
He said, “We should state clearly that this interpretation is both inaccurate and misleading. The House and indeed the National Assembly has consistently affirmed that in the face of present developmental needs, strategic and responsible borrowing is an essential fiscal tool. Like every modern economy, Nigeria sometimes liberates credit to finance critical infrastructure. Stimulate growth and protect vulnerable populations.
“What is important and what the President has assured is that all borrowings remain targeted, transparent, and sustainable, consistent with Nigeria’s medium term debt strategy and guided by global best practices.
“Under our President’s leadership, borrowed forms are being channeled towards transformative projects that will expand revenue generating capacity, such as power, transport and agriculture, rather than for consumption.
“The House stands firmly behind the president’s vision of using judicial borrowing as a catalyst for growth and poverty reduction, while simultaneously strengthening oversight mechanisms”.
The speaker disclosed that Nigeria loses an estimated $18 billion to financial crimes annually which is roughly 3.8 per cent of the country’s GDP, hence the the urgent need for strengthened parliamentary fiscal oversight to safeguard public resources.
He added that collectively the continent loses over $587 billion annually to corruption, illicit financial flows, and inefficiencies.
He added, “Africa is at the crucial crossroads in its history, with a population of approximately 1.4 billion people, roughly one-sixth of humanity. Our continent is young, growing and breathing with potentials. Nigeria, as Africa’s most populous nation, with over 200 million people and a GDP of around $477 billion in 2022, carries a special responsibility in this African story.
“We are a continent of abundant resources and talented youth, and we have bold ambitions captured in the African Union Agenda 2063, which serves as the blueprint for the Africa we want. However, the path to realizing this vision remains difficult. Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa is recovery, although modestly, with the World Bank projecting an increase from 3.3 per cent in 2024 to 3.5 per cent in 2025.
“This is indeed encouraging, but it is not yet sufficient to meet our development needs. Poverty remains widespread. An estimated 464 million Africans live in extreme poverty as of 2024. Unemployment and underemployment, especially among young people, are urgent issues.
“Each year, 12 million young Africans enter the labour markets, yet only around 3 million formal jobs are created. This gap in opportunities highlights a potential demographic dividend that could turn into a demographic risk if we do not take action”.
In his remarks, the chairperson, African Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices (AN-PBO), Professor Dumisani Jantjies, warned that Africa’s economies remain highly vulnerable to external shocks, including volatile capital flows, global trade disruptions, and climate change impacts.
He said the African Parliamentary Budget Offices (PBOs) are emerging as critical instruments in ensuring fiscal transparency, policy accountability, and alignment with the continent’s long-term development goals.
He commended Nigeria’s recent macroeconomic reforms, adding that economic growth had reached 3.4 per cent in 2024, the highest in a decade, yet cautioned that inflation and poverty remain pressing concerns.
He said, “Our mandate is to provide legislatures with credible, non-partisan, evidence-based analysis to enable informed fiscal decisions”.
In his Keynote address, the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana stated that the conference is a continuation of the tradition of excellence and collaboration that defines the AN-PBO and a reaffirmation of a shared commitment to strengthen democratic governance and fiscal accountability on the African Continent.
“The AN-PBO is a critical platform for peer learning, capacity building, and promoting the institutionalisation of evidence-based public finance management. The strides made so far are commendable: improved legislative scrutiny, enhanced transparency, and an increasingly informed citizenry. These achievements are a testament to the vision and hard work of every member State represented here.
“In Nigeria, we continue to witness the positive impact of National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO), whose technical analyses and objective reporting have become invaluable tools in the legislative process. We recognise similar successes across the continent, and we are inspired by the dedication of each national parliament represented here today.
“However, our work is far from done. As we face evolving economic, social, and environmental challenges – from debt sustainability to public sector reforms, the role of parliamentary budget offices has never been more vital”.
Participants at the conference were drawn from Cape Verde, the Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
