Makinde questions Tinubu’s Saudi prayer trip, challenges FG over borrowing

By Ayobami Okerinde The presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has questioned the Federal Government’s decision to seek fresh foreign loans despite rising external reserves and claims of improved revenue collection. Makinde spoke on Thursday at the party’s South-East town hall meeting in Enugu, where he also criticised President Bola Tinubu’s planned trip to Saudi Arabia to pray for Nigeria, urging the government to be transparent about the country’s economic situation.

“I was reading on social media yesterday night up until this morning that our president is travelling to Saudi Arabia to pray for Nigeria. Prayers are answered even in this country; we will stay here, and we will pray for Nigeria and also our leaders because Nigeria belongs to all of us,” he said. Makinde’s comments came after the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced on Wednesday that Tinubu would travel to Makkah on Thursday to perform Umrah, an Islamic pilgrimage, and pray for Nigeria’s peace, unity, stability, and continued progress.

The president subsequently departed for the trip on Thursday. Makinde urged the president and his administration to address the country’s challenges honestly, saying prayers should be accompanied by transparency about the state of the economy. “They should pray for Nigeria and stop all the deceit and tell Nigerians the exact true situation of things so that as you are praying, our prayers will not be in vain,” he said.

The Oyo State governor also questioned the government’s decision to seek additional borrowing despite claims of improved revenue collection and the country’s growing external reserves. Vanguard reported that President Tinubu recently, in a letter to the Senate, sought the approval of a supplementary external borrowing plan of about $20.52bn and €1.045bn to finance infrastructure and development projects across the country.

“They said we have a lot of money in our external reserve and that the Nigeria Revenue Service has surpassed the target for the year, but we still have to go and borrow money. How does it add up?” Makinde asked. He said his experience in the private sector had taught him to assess economic performance by the availability of long-term financing for businesses.

“I came from the private sector; at the age of 29, I have paid salaries for workers till today. So, I know when the economy is expanding. One of the indications is that within your economy space you will have long-term facilities,” he said. Makinde added that businesses were largely relying on short-term credit facilities, which he said limited their ability to expand manufacturing and create jobs.

He argued that manufacturers could not grow sufficiently when they had to borrow at interest rates of about 25 per cent without access to long-term financing. The APM candidate pledged to address the challenge if elected, adding that his administration would promote entrepreneurship as part of efforts to tackle youth unemployment. Makinde also alleged that opposition parties faced efforts to undermine their campaigns, including the removal of campaign posters and disruptions at political events.

“They can try; they can pull down posters or ensure they disturb your campaign,” he said, contrasting such alleged tactics with his campaign’s effort to win public support. While alleging that money was being offered to secure political support, Makinde urged Nigerians to obtain their permanent voter cards and participate in the elections.