The lawmaker representing Edo North, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, on Sunday, rose to the defence of President Bola Tinubu, saying he wasn’t the first leader to secure a loan in the country’s history.
Oshiomhole, a former Edo State governor, further emphasised that borrowing for capital projects such as infrastructure is a healthy global practice.
According to him, every past president from former President Olusegun Obasanjo to General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) had at one point approached the international community for loans and aid.
He made the clarification when he was featured as a guest on Sunday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
His concerns come barely one month after the President sought the National Assembly’s approval to secure external loans of $21.5 million and ¥15 billion, along with a grant of €65 million, as part of his government’s proposed 2025–2026 external borrowing plan.
Tinubu’s request was contained in a letter read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during the plenary on May 27.
The letter also included a summary of the funding breakdown, but the content was not made public.
Oshiomhole, however, insisted that there was nothing wrong with the National Assembly approving such loans since every country needs them for developmental projects.
He said, “Once the purpose of borrowing is clear and acceptable, it is patriotic to approve of it. Because this is not the first president to borrow. I would challenge you to name any Nigerian president, from Olusegun Obasanjo to Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, though I’m not too sure about that because he didn’t live enough.
“But Jonathan and Buhari did borrow. Even America is borrowing. The current bill in the United States is going to push US deficit to about31 to $36trn.
“You name the country that doesn’t borrow. For me, borrowing for the right purpose like infrastructure is very healthy.”