General News
Tinubu working assiduously to engender responsible borrowing to address Nigeria’s public debt – Speaker Abbas
…Advocates stronger oversight to align with the Renewed Hope Agenda for sustainable growth
By Saint Mugaga, Abuja
The Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D., GCON, has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, is working assiduously to address Nigeria’s public debt through a non-oil revenue drive.
This is even as the Speaker noted that public debt, if well utilised, can engender growth and development in any country.
He said Nigeria could leverage responsible borrowing for sustainable development as demonstrated by the Tinubu administration.
“Indeed, public debt, when managed prudently, can be a tool for growth and prosperity. Yet, when left unchecked, it becomes a burden that erodes economic stability and threatens the welfare of future generations,” Speaker Abbas noted.
The Speaker said while delivering his keynote address in Abuja on Monday at the opening of the 11th Annual Conference and General Assembly of the West Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC). He was represented at the event by the Leader of the House, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere.
The Public Accounts Committee of the House, with the support of WAAPAC and international development partners, organised the event with the theme ‘Strengthening Parliamentary Oversight of Public Debt: The Role of Finance and Public Accounts Committees.’
A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Musa Abdullahi Krishi, noted that the Speaker’s remarks were not a call to reject borrowing outright but reflected a responsible approach to debt management—one that ensures that borrowing translates into real value for Nigerians.
This, the statement noted, aligns squarely with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritises fiscal discipline, prudent resource management, and channeling funds into critical areas like infrastructure, education, green energy, and social welfare.
Last week, President Tinubu announced during a meeting with the stakeholders of The Buhari Organization in Abuja, Nigeria, had met its revenue target for 2025 ahead of schedule and would no longer rely on borrowing to fund its budget.
The President also said his administration’s non-oil revenue drive had yielded enough to meet this year’s projections by August, reducing Nigeria’s dependence on external loans.
“Today I can stand here before you to brag: Nigeria is not borrowing. We have met our revenue target for the year, and we met it in August,” the president said.
At the WAAPAC event, the Speaker emphasised the “need for stronger oversight, transparent borrowing practices, and a collective resolve to ensure that tangible economic and social returns match every naira borrowed.”
He added, “When we examine the sources of Africa’s external financing, it becomes clear that the weight of debt on our continent is shaped by whom we borrow from and on what terms. Today, Western private lenders hold about 35 percent of Africa’s government debt through banks, asset managers, and oil traders.
“Multilateral institutions, such as the World Bank and the IMF, account for another 39 percent, while bilateral loans from other governments comprise 13 percent. Chinese creditors, despite much of the public debate, hold only 12 percent.
“To place this in sharper focus, in 2019, bondholders alone represented 27 percent of Africa’s external debt, making them the single largest creditor group, ahead of China at 13 percent.”
Speaker Abbas stated that if Africa is to grow stronger, the countries must not only negotiate fairer terms of borrowing but also rethink their dependence on external finance.
“We must channel more energy into mobilising domestic resources, fostering intra-African trade, and creating financial instruments that serve the continent’s own development priorities. Only then can we move from vulnerability to resilience, and from dependency to true economic sovereignty,” he said.
The Speaker stated that the conference could not have come at a more opportune time, “as our nations face mounting fiscal pressures that demand stronger legislative oversight of public debt and borrowing.”
He also noted that the theme “speaks directly to the urgency of safeguarding our financial future,” stressing that it “goes to the very heart of democratic governance and sustainable development.”
Speaker Abbas said, “Therefore, oversight of public debt is a democratic duty and a moral responsibility of the legislature. Our parliaments must ensure that every borrowing decision reflects prudence, transparency, and the collective interest of our citizens.
While noting that the implications of this debt structure are far-reaching, the Speaker said a “significant share of our national revenues is tied to debt servicing rather than being invested in the things our people need most: roads, schools, hospitals, and innovation.”
He added that the high cost of commercial loans, coupled with the burden of repayment in foreign currencies, leaves many African economies vulnerable to market shocks. “This narrows fiscal space, constrains domestic policy choices, and slows the pace of sustainable development,” he said.
By Felix Umande
The House of Representatives has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to immediately comply with judgements of the Federal High Court, Makurdi Division, directing the restoration of Njiriv and Yonov State Constituencies in Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue State.
The resolution followed a motion moved by the member representing Gwer East/Gwer West Federal Constituency, Arc. Dr. Asema Achado, during plenary on Thursday, October 15, 2026, presided over by Speaker Rt. Hon. Dr. Tajudeen Abbas.
Presenting the motion, Achado cited judgements delivered on July 2 and July 7, 2026, on the restoration of Njiriv and Yonov constituencies and called on the House to compel INEC to give effect to the decisions and conduct elections in line with court orders and electoral laws.
He said restoring the constituencies would expand political participation, enhance access to legislative representation and strengthen democratic inclusion for people of Gwer East.
The motion warned that failure to implement the judgements could undermine the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution, particularly Section 1(1) and (3) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
The House accordingly resolved that INEC should fully and immediately comply with the judgements in Suit Nos. FHC/MKD/CS/07/2026 and FHC/MKD/CS/235/2025 by conducting elections in the restored constituencies.
It mandated the Clerk of the House to transmit a certified true copy of the resolution to the Chairman of INEC, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Governor of Benue State for necessary action.
The House also mandated its Committee on Electoral Matters to liaise with INEC to ensure full implementation and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
By Felix Umande
The Catholic Diocese of Otukpo has announced the kidnap of one of its priests, Rev. Fr. John Inalegwu Otache, with the police confirming a rescue operation is underway.
Fr. Otache, Parish Priest of St. Margaret’s Parish, Ajegbe-Awume, was abducted on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, while returning home from Otukpo along Otobi-Amejo–Ajegbe Road in Ohimini Local Government Area of Benue State.
In a statement, the Diocesan Chancellor, Rev. Fr. Joseph Aboyi Itodo, said Bishop Most Rev. Michael Ekwoyi Apochi was deeply pained by the development and has called for prayers for the priest’s quick and safe release.
“It is with great sadness that we write to notify you of the kidnap of one of our priests, Rev. Fr. John Inalegwu Otache… He was going home from Otukpo when he ran into the kidnappers,” Fr. Itodo said.
“We commend our brother, Fr. John, and all those in the kidnappers’ den throughout the country to the efficacious intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for their speedy and safe release,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Benue State Police Command confirmed the abduction on Friday in Makurdi.
Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Aondogu Orchia, said the command has commenced full investigation and efforts were ongoing to rescue the priest.
By Nick Ibe, Abuja
Timing has become a central issue in the yet-to-commence wage enhancement talks between the Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as labour calls for nominations and immediate negotiations while government insists that June is the time to start the ball rolling for talks on the new wage suggesting the new wage starts when it was signed into law.
In other words, while labour wants the negotiations started to meet the June 1, 2026 date, government is looking at it with different lenses: counting three years from when the present wage bill was signed into law on July 29, 2024,
To labour, the interpretation of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2019, as amended in 2024, with the worsening cost-of-living crisis, has eroded the purchasing power of workers earning the N70,000 minimum wage.
In a letter dated October 13, 2026, addressed to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, and signed by its president, Joe Ajaero, NLC demanded the immediate commencement of the renegotiation process, including the call for nominations and inauguration of a tripartite committee.
The congress said, statutorily, negotiations should commence by October 17, 2026.
The demand followed the minister’s letter of October 12, 2026, rejecting labour’s call for an early review, arguing that commencing negotiations barely two years into the implementation of the present wage would be premature, inconsistent with the law and disruptive to the industrial relations system.
The October 12 letter by the NLC to the minister was the communiqué of its recent National Executive Council (NEC), where it made its demands to the Federal Government on the plight of Nigerian workers and the need for the government to take action.
The labour minister said the National Minimum Wage Act provided for a review every three years, adding that the N70,000 minimum wage would become due for review on June 1, 2027.
He noted that President Bola Tinubu assented to the present wage on July 29, 2024, following negotiations involving the Federal Government, organised labour and the organised private sector, resulting in an increase of more than 133 per cent from the previous N30,000.
The government also cited efforts to secure compliance with the existing wage by state governments and private employers, alongside interventions under the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, food security measures and other social support programmes, as part of measures to address workers’ economic difficulties.
It maintained that the government remained committed to tripartism, decent work and workers’ welfare, assuring the NLC that a National Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee would be convened at the appropriate time.
The minister urged the congress to sustain constructive engagement with the government to preserve industrial peace and harmony.
However, NLC faulted the government’s interpretation of the law, arguing that preparations for negotiations should begin before the present wage framework expires.
It warned that postponing preparations until the existing framework expires could delay the outcome of negotiations and worsen the economic hardship facing workers.
The NLC also rejected the government’s reliance on the reported 133 per cent wage increase and its intervention programmes as evidence that workers were receiving meaningful relief.
According to the congress, the increase from N30,000 to N70,000 has since been eroded by the devaluation of the naira and rising living costs, which it attributed largely to the government’s macroeconomic policies, particularly increases in petrol prices.
It said workers were struggling to afford transportation, food, shelter, healthcare and education, arguing that the present wage was no longer sufficient to meet basic household needs.
The union further argued that the CNG initiative had been undermined by inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of promised gas and vehicle conversion kits, limiting its capacity to cushion the effect of higher transport costs.
Consequently, the NLC demanded immediate economic interventions, including implementation of the tax relief agreed upon in 2023, payment of wage awards to workers and a reduction in petrol prices to the level prevailing when the present minimum wage was signed into law in 2024.
It also urged the Federal Government to implement the settlement terms with the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and address the demands of the Joint Public Sector Negotiating Council (JPSNC).
While acknowledging the Ministry of Labour’s prompt response to its earlier resolutions, the congress said an acknowledgement without concrete timelines and immediate relief measures amounted to rhetoric.
Labour urged government to act expeditiously, warning that continued delays in the minimum wage negotiation process and the absence of direct economic relief would deepen the hardship confronting Nigerian workers.
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