The lawmaker representing Abia North Senatorial District, Orji Kalu, says without external financing, the country’s economy could face collapse.
The senator defended the country’s borrowing when he appeared on Monday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today, addressing criticism of the National Assembly’s role in approving executive loan requests.
This is amid concerns over Nigeria’s rising debt profile.
The former Senate Chief Whip, when pressed on whether legislators adequately scrutinise requests for loans, insisted that the oversight process remains intact.
“Let me tell you, if this economy does not borrow, it will collapse. That is the truth. That is where we are.
“Of course. The Committee on Foreign Debt and Local Debt scrutinises them. I’m not a member of that committee. These jobs are mainly done at the committee level. For me, the National Assembly has done its job,” he explained.
In April 2025, Nigeria fully repaid the $3.4 billion IMF loan it obtained under the Rapid Financing Instrument during the COVID-19 crisis.
However, the country will continue to pay around $30 million annually in Special Drawing Rights, SDR, charges related to the facility.
Regardless of this, the country plans to borrow an additional $26 billion between 2025 and 2026 to address deficits and spur economic growth, a move many Nigerians have faulted, accusing the National Assembly of being a “rubber stamp”.
However, the former Abia State Governor has dismissed the criticism, insisting that due legislative processes are always followed.
“Any law or anything you see passed in the National Assembly has gone through the level it’s supposed to. Once it takes its course, I’m satisfied. That’s the definition of lawmaking,” he added.
The lawnaker also rebuffed suggestions that lawmakers were failing to perform their oversight role and cited the recent passage of the tax bill as proof of the Senate’s diligence.
“We are very thorough. People just want to see us fighting with the executive. We are adults. We cannot fight. For the interest of Nigeria, we have mechanisms to safeguard that.
“The day we passed the tax bill, I went to the Senate President’s house to congratulate him. It was a thorough job. All the evenings we were there— seven o’clock, six o’clock— we took it one by one. That’s not what a rubber stamp does,” he stated.
