The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), a non-governmental organization focused on public finance accountability, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s $21.5 billion loan request, stating that it violates several provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA).

In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by its Lead Director, Eze Onyekpere, Esq., CSJ urged the National Assembly to suspend consideration of the loan request until it complies fully with the requirements of the FRA.

According to the organization, the loan request fails to meet the conditions laid out in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which mandates that all government borrowing must be for capital expenditure and human development, carried out on concessional terms with low interest rates and long repayment periods.

The Act also requires that any borrowing must include a detailed cost-benefit analysis outlining the economic and social value of the intended projects.

CSJ pointed out that no such cost-benefit analysis has been presented, and the specific list of projects to be financed by the loan has not been made public.

It noted that Nigerians have not been provided with adequate information to assess the proposed loan, either through physical documents or electronic platforms of the executive or legislature.

Quoting Section 48(1) of the FRA, the organization stated that the federal government is obligated to conduct its fiscal affairs transparently, including full and timely disclosure of all financial decisions.

The failure to disclose relevant details of the loan proposal, CSJ said, constitutes a breach of this requirement.

It added that President Tinubu has “observed the FRA in the breach” and warned that the National Assembly must not proceed with considering the loan in defiance of the law.

CSJ argued that given Nigeria’s already bloated public debt—which stood at ₦144.665 trillion as of December 31, 2024, according to the Debt Management Office—and the high percentage of retained revenue spent on debt servicing, additional borrowing without public scrutiny is unacceptable.

In view of these concerns, CSJ demanded that the federal government immediately publish the list and schedule of all projects to be funded by the loan, along with their locations and comprehensive cost-benefit analyses.

These documents, it said, should be made publicly available in both hard and soft copies to enable Nigerians to participate meaningfully in the borrowing process.

CSJ also cautioned the National Assembly against rushing to approve the loan. It criticized the Senate leadership for accepting the President’s demand for a swift review and instructing the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts to return a report within two weeks.

It insisted that such a critical decision should not be made without broad public engagement through a formal hearing process, stressing that transparency and due process must guide all actions relating to public debt.