Excessive Borrowing will Sink Nigeria, Primate Ayodele Warns Tinubu

The leader of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has issued a stern warning to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against the federal government’s continued reliance on borrowing to fund national projects, cautioning that the country risks economic collapse if the trend does not stop immediately.

In a statement released on Friday through his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, the cleric expressed deep concern over what he described as the administration’s frequent resort to loans, arguing that such a pattern indicates a failure to properly harness Nigeria’s vast natural and economic resources.

“Stop borrowing money, we have resources in states like Taraba, Zamfara. Nigeria will go on sale with the way Tinubu is going about borrowing money. The country will sink if we are not careful,” Ayodele warned in the statement.

The prophet pointed out that several states across the nation, including Taraba, Zamfara, and Kogi, are richly endowed with untapped mineral deposits and agricultural potential that, if properly developed, could make the country self-sufficient without depending heavily on external debt.

Ayodele went further to declare that Nigeria is already burdened with a level of debt that may be difficult, if not impossible, to fully repay. Rather than accumulating more liabilities, he urged the government to pivot towards developing internal revenue sources and maximising the nation’s natural wealth to build a stronger economic foundation.

“We are on a debt that can never be fully repaid, but we can use what we have to save the economy instead of these debts,” he stated.

The cleric also cautioned President Tinubu against allowing the nation’s financial situation to deteriorate to a point where international lenders lose confidence in Nigeria’s creditworthiness. He warned that such a scenario would have damaging consequences for the country’s global standing and economic prospects.

“The country is rich already; let us not get to a level where nobody would want to borrow from us money again,” Ayodele added.

In his most direct warning, the primate emphasised that the culture of borrowing, if left unchecked, poses an existential threat to the Nigerian economy. He reiterated that the government must shift its focus toward leveraging the country’s natural endowments across various states as a sustainable alternative to debt financing.

“Borrowing will kill the Nigerian economy; use resources in some of our states to make the country better,” he said.

Ayodele’s warning adds to a growing chorus of voices from economic experts, civil society groups, and religious leaders expressing concern over Nigeria’s rising debt profile. According to official figures, the country’s total public debt has increased significantly in recent years, with a substantial portion of government revenue now allocated to debt servicing rather than critical infrastructure, healthcare, or education.

While the Tinubu administration has defended borrowing as necessary to close infrastructure gaps and stimulate economic growth, critics argue that without stronger revenue generation, better resource management, and reduced wasteful spending, the nation’s fiscal trajectory remains unsustainable. Ayodele’s remarks have since sparked fresh public debate, with many Nigerians agreeing that urgent action is needed to prevent the country from sinking deeper into economic crisis.