By Joy Odor
The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has taken a swipe at the African Democratic Congress (ADC) over its recent criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s external borrowing plans, describing the party’s stance as political gamesmanship and deliberate misinformation.
In a strongly worded statement signed by TMSG Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, and Secretary, Dapo Okubanjo, the group accused the ADC, through its spokesman and former minister, Bolaji Abdullahi, of selectively targeting borrowing under All Progressives Congress (APC) administrations while ignoring similar actions under the previous government he served.
TMSG said the ADC’s call for a forensic audit of all loans taken since 2015 was “laughable,” particularly as it failed to include loans acquired during the Goodluck Jonathan administration, a government that Abdullahi served as a cabinet member.
“For us, there is no way a member of the Jonathan-led administration, which secured approval for $9.3 billion in concessionary loans between 2012 and 2014, can now pretend ignorance about the workings of medium-term borrowing plans,” the group stated.
TMSG also criticized Abdullahi’s claim that the recently approved $21 billion 2024–2026 borrowing plan would raise Nigeria’s debt profile before the end of the year.
It explained that such borrowing plans are not immediate liabilities but project-tied with multi-year drawdowns spanning five to seven years.
“The external borrowing component for 2025 is just $1.23 billion,” the group clarified. “To suggest that $20 billion will be added to the country’s debt this year is not only misleading but also mischievous.”
The group argued that the ADC’s demand for an audit of loans taken in the last decade was politically motivated and failed to ask the right questions about financial management between 2010 and 2015, a period during which Nigeria reportedly earned N51 trillion from crude oil sales.
“If ADC genuinely seeks transparency, why not demand an audit of loans and revenues dating back beyond the APC era?” TMSG asked.
It further noted that the call for an audit of APC-era loans indirectly questioned the roles of former ministers from the Buhari administration, such as Abubakar Malami, Rotimi Amaechi, and Rauf Aregbesola, who are now part of ADC’s leadership.
“The statement exposes ADC as a coalition of strange bedfellows, united more by bitterness over lost power than by a coherent policy agenda,” TMSG added. “This ill-conceived attack has already created discomfort within the ADC’s ranks, especially among its members who served in the same administrations now under scrutiny.”
The group concluded by urging the opposition to engage in constructive dialogue rather than what it called “a desperate attempt to rewrite history and score cheap political points.”
