The Tinubu Media Force has dismissed recent remarks by Dino Melaye on Nigeria’s borrowing under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing his financial critique as unserious, laughable, and lacking credible economic reasoning.
The group, in a statement by its national coordinator, Abiola Oluwagbenga, said Melaye’s comments reduced a complex fiscal issue to mere political theatrics, offering no meaningful contribution to the national conversation.
According to the statement, Melaye deliberately focused only on borrowing while ignoring broader financial reforms and debt management strategies implemented by the Tinubu administration.
It noted that while Melaye portrayed borrowing as reckless, he failed to acknowledge the government’s achievements in restructuring debt, improving revenue mobilization, and reducing debt-servicing pressures that crippled past administrations.
The group further highlighted the full repayment of the ₦30 trillion Ways and Means debt inherited from previous governments as one of the administration’s landmark achievements.
“This repayment, announced by the President in his Independence Day broadcast of October 2024, was accompanied by healthy foreign reserves of about $37 billion. The debt-service-to-revenue ratio also fell dramatically from 97 percent to 68 percent, while a $7 billion forex backlog was cleared to stabilize the naira,” it added.
The Media Force asked why Melaye, in his so-called analysis, conveniently ignored these verifiable accomplishments.
The group further noted that Nigeria’s public debt profile, which stood at ₦149.39 trillion as of March 31, 2025, has been transparently managed.
According to the Debt Management Office, much of the increase is due to currency depreciation, not reckless borrowing.
It emphasized that Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio remains at a moderate 40–45 percent, which is far healthier than South Africa’s 70 percent or Ghana’s 90 percent, yet Melaye failed to reference these critical comparative benchmarks.
The group added that Melaye’s attempt to criticize Tinubu on borrowing was even more laughable considering his silence in the past.
“As a senator, he was aligned with administrations that borrowed heavily without transparent repayment plans, yet he never raised his voice.”
The Media Force described this selective outrage as hypocrisy, proof that his comments were politically motivated rather than based on sound financial reasoning.
In addition, the group highlighted the government’s proactive steps to address sector-specific debts, such as the ₦4 trillion refinancing plan approved in August 2025 to clear liabilities in the power sector.
This, it argued, is a pragmatic solution that will stabilize electricity supply and attract investment, unlike the “baseless complaints” Melaye has offered without suggesting any realistic alternative.
On infrastructure, the Media Force reminded Nigerians of the $652 million secured from China Exim Bank to construct a strategic road corridor linking the Lekki Deep Sea Port and the Dangote Refinery to southern trade routes.
Read Also: Tinubu Media Force hails Okonjo-Iweala’s commendation as global validation of Tinubu’s economic reforms
According to the group, this demonstrates how the administration is borrowing responsibly, directing funds into projects that yield economic returns, unlike the unaccountable loans of the past which Melaye supported in silence.
It stressed that President Tinubu’s policies have already delivered practical benefits to Nigerians.
“From the rollout of the Nelfund student loan scheme to agro-economic planning aimed at reducing food prices, and a compressed natural gas framework that lowers transport costs, the administration has tied its fiscal policies directly to citizens’ welfare. Melaye’s failure to acknowledge these achievements, they said, renders his analysis hollow,” it noted.
Concluding its statement, the Tinubu Media Force urged Nigerians not to be swayed by what they described as “comedy parading as financial analysis.”
It encouraged President Tinubu to remain focused on his economic reforms and his promise of sustainable prosperity, insisting that the opposition must do more than throw tantrums if they want to be taken seriously in national discourse.
