Bongo Adi, an economics professor at the Lagos Business School, has characterized President Bola Tinubu’s $6.9 billion foreign loan as a plan to combat poverty in the nation.
Adi reportedly revealed this during an interview on Channels Television’s show The Morning Brief on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
On Tuesday, the National Assembly granted the President’s request for an external lending facility worth $6.9 billion.
A crucial part of the approval is that 40% of the money go toward capital projects included in the budgets for 2025 and 2026.
The Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt’s report, which suggested the allocation to guarantee the loan directly supports infrastructure and development efforts, was adopted after the decision was made.
Speaking about the development, Adi connected the borrowing to initiatives to promote sectoral development and lower Nigeria’s poverty rates.
“To improve sector development on poverty reduction, let’s translate that borrowing. You will concur that Nigeria is currently seeing levels of poverty that are unprecedented in our history,” he stated.
But he presented a bleak picture of the current state of affairs, pointing out that the nation is going through unheard-of hardship.
“This government appears to be overseeing the highest level of poverty in our nation’s history,” he continued.
The expert clarified that the government’s choice to borrow money is motivated by logical economic factors.
“The government is also a rational agent like individuals, so they are looking at how to maximize their returns at the least cost,” he stated.
“I believe that the government’s maximization issue is borrowing as much as possible. They make it appear to work in their favor given their financial circumstances.
Adi added that creditor trust has increased thanks to Nigeria’s projected $50 billion in external reserves.
“Everyone, including the creditors, has confidence that this government can repay because you have an external reserve of 50 billion,” he stated.
He claims that since long-term repayment responsibilities are usually stretched out across a number of years, the government would not be unduly concerned about them.
He suggested that present officeholders might not be fully responsible, citing debt payback schedules of five to ten years.
As a result, it is evident that all signs point to increased borrowing. You can’t stop it because, in my opinion, the government should borrow money given the logic at work here,” he said.
Although macroeconomic and fiscal reforms may be producing some dividends, Adi admitted that the average Nigerian has not yet been greatly impacted by them.
“Given the time lag, it appears that the time lag keeps retracting again with the collapse of infrastructure, and we begin to see the cascade to the micro level to the ordinary man or woman on the street,” he stated.
He pointed out that the public’s impression of government policy is still influenced by widespread hardship.
“Therefore, people are not so happy when they hear the government is borrowing more money because this is the challenge that we have, and the population’s misery is currently getting worse,” he continued.
The economist also noted that a significant barrier to productivity is ongoing infrastructural problems, especially in the power industry.
He asked, “What can you say to that when there is no light and productivity is at an all-time low, even though we seem to be doing well at the macro front?”
He continued by saying that changes in the oil industry, which he claimed is still underperforming, are a major factor in the macroeconomic gains that have been seen.
Adi said that many Nigerians are still dealing with the fallout from significant policy choices, such as the elimination of gasoline subsidies and the unification of the foreign exchange market.
He claims that despite being necessary, these measures have continued to put pressure on businesses and households, making the population’s financial situation more dire.
