NewStats: 3,263,216 , 8,179,413 topics. Date: Thursday, 05 June 2025 at 05:56 AM 1fu62

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Let us not mince words or rewrite history to protect the powerful. If you’ve been following recent headlines, you’d know that former CBN governor, Mr. G.E., is now facing serious scrutiny. Over seven hundred and fifty-three properties allegedly tied to him have been identified worth several billion in local currency.

Let that sink in: 753 buildings. Not lands. Not shops. Buildings.

This is not a movie script. This is what Nigerians have been subjected to while many sleep on hospital floors or queue for days to get basic drugs. While universities go on strike. While boreholes replace water corporations. While parents sell wrappers to pay WAEC fees.

We must immortalize this era of mismanagement.

The Symbolism We Need: Call It What It Was

Let’s officially rename that estate — yes, the one tied to these ongoing investigations — to something future generations can never mistake:

“Corruption Estate.”

It should carry the memory of every pensioner unpaid.
Every sick child turned away from a dysfunctional clinic.
Every public school kid forced to sit on broken chairs.

Let each block in that development be named after the lives we could’ve saved if the funds were used properly:
• Healthcare Drive
• Naira Drain Crescent
• Ghost Worker Grove
• Student Strike Boulevard

Let it remind the world that when trust is looted, lives are lost.

This Isn’t Just Mismanagement — It’s a National Injury

There’s a term economists use: opportunity cost. That’s what we really lost — the chance to build a better Nigeria. Instead, that chance was locked up in luxury apartments and overseas wires.

We don’t need to sensationalize this. We only need to tell the truth.
Because the truth itself is terrifying enough.

What Can Be Done Now?

We’re not calling for chaos. But we are demanding justice with visibility. Let the law take its course, but let that course not end in quiet settlements and business as usual. Let the outcome set a national tone.

Other countries have drawn hard lines against high-level public looting.
Some impose lifetime bans. Others enforce full recovery with jail time.
A few go further.

Nigeria doesn’t have to mimic any country’s tactics. But we must mirror their resolve. We must show our children that there’s a price for betraying the public.

Legacy Is Everything

Preserve the estate. Don’t repurpose it. Don’t re-sell it.
Let it decay. Let it rot. Let future leaders drive by it and what happens when a people wake up.

Build a museum inside.
Name it “The Cost of Silence.”
Let school tours through the hallways and read the true stories on the walls.

That’s how nations build institutional memory.
That’s how we keep shame from becoming culture.[/color

[color=#990000]This isn’t vengeance. It’s a reckoning.
When leadership fails with this much boldness, the response must be just as bold.

Let “Corruption Estate” stand — as both a warning and a tribute.
Not to the looter.
But to every Nigerian who suffered quietly while the wealth meant for them was quietly converted into marble flooring and chandeliers.

Smart Lawyer....trying to prevent re-looting of the loot.

We are all Nigerians. We know what is most likely being planned behind the scene.

Abuja-based human rights lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, has called on the Federal Government to establish an independent committee to oversee the disbursement of 753 duplexes recently recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and handed over to the Federal Ministry of Housing.

The EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, had on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, officially handed over the 753 housing units located at Plot 109, Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja, to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa.

The estate, covering 150,500 square metres and consisting of duplexes and other apartments, was recovered following a final forfeiture order issued on December 2, 2024, by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.

In a statement on Wednesday, Olajengbesi called for the establishment of an independent committee comprising certified estate valuers, auditors, civil society organisations, respected activists, lawyers, religious leaders, dedicated EFCC officers, and officials of the Housing Ministry to guarantee an equitable and transparent disbursement process.

He said, “Special commendation to the EFCC boss Ola Olukoyede for his transparent and selfless disposition in the recovery of loot so far.

“However, the work of the anti-graft agency is not done with the handover to the Ministry of Housing. Given the intractable corruption and lack of transparency and ability that has become an ugly trademark in most ministries of government, the EFCC should painstakingly monitor the allocation of the recovered loot. This would go a long way to ensuring that cronies of government officials are not the only ones who would usurp the recovered duplexes

“Also, an independent committee should be set up to include certified estate valuers, auditors, civil society organisations, respected activists, lawyers, religious leaders, diligent EFCC officers and officials of the Housing Ministry. This is to ensure high-level transparency and ability in the process.”

The lawyer warned that without a transparent process, the disbursement of the houses could be manipulated to benefit only the cronies of government officials.

He emphasised the need for continued EFCC oversight even after the official handover to the Ministry of Housing.

“Given the intractable corruption and lack of transparency and ability that has become an ugly trademark in most ministries of government, the EFCC should painstakingly monitor the allocation of the recovered loot.

“This would go a long way in ensuring that cronies of government officials are not the only ones who would usurp the recovered duplexes,” he said.

Source: https://punchng.com/lawyer-seeks-oversight-on-allocation-of-emefieles-753-forfeited-duplexes/

crownfierce:


Rubbish, u posted here. A man that has fought tooth and nail to ensure there is tax reform so we can maximise other revenue potentials. It’s obvious you don’t know Tinubu.. u re just playing opposition blindly

We have an 80% oil economy.

Imagine how dirty and unhygienic everything in that community is without water.

nothingspoil70:
Apostle of doom, you intentionally decided not to see any positive development going on in the country. Let me remind you that whatever you see is what you will get in this country; if all you see is calamity and doom,that's what you will get; If on the other hand you are positive and see a lot of opportunities, that is what you will get. As we speak, people are still making their money in this country and they are thriving as well. My advice to you is to change your midset and start being positive.

The classic “think positive and your generator will magically turn into 24/7 electricity” response.
I guess insecurity is just a “mindset,” hunger is an “attitude problem,” and the dollar crossing ₦2000 is simply a vibe.
While some are “thriving,” millions are surviving on vibes and borrowed hope.
So kindly save the motivational quotes for your next Ponzi seminar.
Some of us prefer facts over fairy dust.

helinues:
Stop creating meaningless threads.
Nigeria can't be burning make you still have time to be creating threads daily.
The acclaimed bullionaires who understand hardship than those who are experiencing it
Save us the emotional ranting

You never told us,where your education stopped ? Did you ever finish secondary school ?

Dotherightthing:
Are you mad

Are you literate ?
Do you know how Nigeria gets dollars ?
You think Tinubu is the one creating the numbers every morning ?

It will get worse.

DrDoc:
Talk about the eroded purchasing powerToal erosion of middle class

No more middle class. You are either rich or poor.

I think Nigeria is in a State of Emergency.
The dollar we get from Oil sales will no longer fund the padded 2025 budget
Are we going to borrow more money ?
If we borrow more the Dollar to naira will exceed 2000naira easily

Meanwhile all we here from the people we elected are
President in
Vice president in Senegal
Senators fighting over sexual harassment
Not a single think tank committee on this impending doom and how to avert it
State governors borrowing money we can never pay back in 10 generations from today.

.

While the world tiptoes toward economic mayhem, Nigeria is dancing barefoot on a landmine.

The oil price is collapsing. Tariffs are rising globally. Recession? That’s the polite word. What’s coming is stagflation on steroids. Every major economy is bracing for it. Except us. We’re watching senators argue like women in a Nollywood catfight over who seduced who, while the country silently chokes.

Let’s talk real.
We have no economic plan. Zero. The naira is on life , only kept alive by CBN gimmicks and hope. And guess what? That hope is running out. Oil revenue — our crutch — is falling. Dollar inflows are dry. Loans? The interest rates we’re paying look more like ransom fees. Meanwhile, our 2025 budget is a work of fiction — not backed by revenue, not backed by ideas, not backed by logic.

All this while the President lounges in . For what? To “attract investors”? What investor puts money in a country where a litre of fuel is more expensive than daily minimum wage? Where insecurity is so bad you can’t even harvest yams in peace?

Our rural children are growing up feral. Out of school, underfed, unvaccinated, uned for. That’s your future workforce. Illiterate, angry, disconnected — and soon to be radicalized if this powder keg keeps heating up.

And where is leadership?
Our Senate chamber has turned into a market brawl. No economic think tank. No strategic committee. No war room. Just Akpabio telling Natasha not to seduce him, and Natasha firing back like she’s defending a dignity that was never on trial.

This is what governance looks like in Nigeria: a group of rent seekers gasping for relevance, while the ship is already sinking. The world is turning a page — AI, green energy, geopolitical realignment — and we’re stuck arguing about fuel queues, food inflation, and who stole the budget padding pen.

This might be the best we’ve got.

We’re out of miracles. The naira will tank. Jobs will vanish. Hunger will rise. Debt will consume the federation.
How did we get here? And when will we stop pretending this isn’t the cliff’s edge?

Nigeria’s government is borrowing money like there’s no tomorrow, and it’s pushing the country deeper into a financial hole. By the end of 2024, our total debt is expected to hit ₦144.34 trillion, which means more than half of what Nigeria makes in a year will be owed to creditors.

Between March and June 2024 alone, Nigeria’s debt jumped by ₦13 trillion because:
1. The government keeps spending more than it earns.
2. The naira is crashing, making foreign debt even worse in local currency.

Here’s the scary part:
• ₦71.22 trillion is owed inside Nigeria.
• $42.90 billion is owed to foreign lenders like the World Bank and IMF (which equals about ₦63.07 trillion at June’s exchange rate).

Why Should You Care?
• You will pay for it – Either through more taxes or higher prices.
• Less money for progress – Instead of fixing hospitals, schools, and roads, we’ll be using our money to pay back debts.
• Dangerous future – If Nigeria can’t pay back, lenders will stop giving us loans, and the economy could crash.

Nigeria is borrowing like a reckless gambler with no plan to pay back. If this madness continues, poverty will rise, inflation will skyrocket, and our economy will crumble.

As the government continues to borrow, Nigeria’s debt clock is predicted to accelerate even more. Total debt to gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to settle at 54.6% at the end of 2024, analysts at Cordros Securities said in a commentary note.

In its latest update, the Debt Management Office said Nigeria’s public debt increased by 10.4% between March and June 2024 to N134.30 trillion. In the first three months of 2024, Nigeria’s total debt had printed at N121.67 trillion but grew due to increased borrowing and naira devaluation as of the end of June.

Analysts at Cordros Securities Limited specifically attribute the increase to new borrowings to finance rising government expenditures against persistent revenue underperformance, as well as the impact of the naira depreciation on foreign debt.

In the note, Cordros Securities said there was a broad-based increase across the domestic and external debt stock. Data released by DMO showed that domestic debt ed for 53% of total public debt while foreign debt contributed 43% as of June 2024.

Specifically, the total domestic debt stock rose by 8.5% between March and June to settle at N71.22 trillion from N65.65 trillion in the first quarter of the year.

Details revealed that total external debt increased by 1.9% at the same period to USD 42.90 billion, a moderate decline, reflecting additional borrowing from the World Bank totaling USD 1.22 billion. There was also IMF loan repayment of USD 418.8 million in the same period.

In naira , total external debt rose by 12.6% between March and June 2024 to N63.07 trillion from N56.02 trillion in Q1-2024 using an average exchange rate value of N1,470.19/USD in Q2-24, compared to N1,330.26/USD in Q1-24.

Total debt on a year-on-year basis grew by 53.7%, pushing the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio to 50.8%, Cordros said in the commentary note. Analysts anticipate a significant increase in Nigeria’s total debt due to additional borrowings by the Federal Government to fund the 2024 budget deficit and the impact of the depreciation of the naira on foreign debt.

“We project total public debt to settle at N144.34 trillion, or 54.6% of GDP in 2024,” Cordros said.

Source: https://dmarketforces.com/nigerias-total-debt-estimated-to-hit-54-6-of-gdp-in-2024/

Imagine handing a street hawker the keys to a billion-dollar company and expecting him to run it successfully. That’s exactly what’s happening in Nigeria today. Governors who have never managed a ₦10 million business in their entire lives are now taking ₦1 trillion loans with no real plan to pay back.

Even Aliko Dangote, a man who built Africa’s biggest business empire, spent decades learning how to manage money, generate revenue, and turn a profit. But in Nigeria, a man who couldn’t keep a barber shop profitable is suddenly borrowing trillions—and nobody is asking questions.

These politicians don’t see money as something to manage responsibly. They see it as a lottery ticket—something to be spent before reality sets in. So, they blow it on convoys of luxury SUVs, private jets, and meaningless white elephant projects, while hospitals have no medicine, schools are collapsing, and pensioners are dying without their benefits.

The real thieves in this country aren’t the ones snatching phones on the street—it’s the men in flowing agbada, playing Monopoly with public funds. The worst part? There are no consequences. Who is auditing these debts? Who is holding these reckless spenders able?

Nigeria is being sold off, piece by piece, not by foreign invaders, but by its own leaders. And when the bill finally comes due, it won’t be them that suffer—it will be the ordinary citizens left to pick up the pieces.

Nigeria’s governors are plunging their states into crippling debt, borrowing without ability while the citizens they swore to serve languish in poverty. Instead of investing in essential sectors like education, healthcare, and infrastructure, these leaders squander public funds on luxury vehicles, extravagant airports, and other white elephants with no real economic or social value.

The level of fiscal indiscipline, mismanagement, and corruption across many states is alarming. Despite their heavy reliance on federal allocations and weak internally generated revenue, governors continue to accumulate unsustainable debts.

As a result, many states are effectively bankrupt after debt repayments, leaving them unable to pay workers’ salaries, pensions, or contractors working on critical infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, governors cruise around in convoys of multimillion-naira SUVs, flying in private jets, and awarding themselves outrageous severance packages.

Niger State Governor Mohammed Bago recently itted to a “miscalculation” in securing a N1 trillion loan for infrastructure projects after being frustrated by contractors’ slow pace of work. Bago belatedly realised that poor planning and weak oversight, which have plagued Nigeria’s project execution outcomes, come with consequences.

As of Q3 2024, Niger State already owed N144 billion in domestic debt and $75.6 million in external debt. But this is a well-worn path.

Nigeria’s total public debt rose to N142.3 trillion as of September 30, 2024, as debt servicing payments surged by 69 per cent in the first half of 2024, reaching N6.04 trillion, up from N3.58 trillion recorded in the same period of 2023.

The N16.3 trillion set aside for debt servicing in 2025, represents a staggering 96.75 per cent increase over the 2024 figure. The states are following the same trajectory.

By Q3 2023, the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory held N4.12 trillion in domestic debt equal to 19.98 per cent of the country’s total and 12.45 per cent of total public debt. States also ed for 11 per cent of Nigeria’s external debt as of June 2024.

The highest domestic debt burdens were in Lagos (N833.4 billion), Rivers (N389.2 billion), Delta (N342 billion), Bauchi (N145.2 billion), Imo (N155 billion), Enugu (N128 billion), and Akwa Ibom (N126 billion).

As of June 2024, states and the FCT held a combined external debt of $4.89 billion, with Lagos alone owing $1.2 billion, followed by Kaduna ($640.6 million), Edo ($380.9 million), Cross River ($210.9 million), Rivers ($203.8 million), Bauchi ($185.2 million), Ogun ($166.6 million), and Ekiti ($136.3 million).

Despite these staggering debts, most states lack the revenue to sustain such borrowing. The latest National Bureau of Statistics data shows that the 36 states and the FCT generated a combined N2.43 trillion in IGR in 2023, a 26.03 per cent increase from N1.93 trillion in 2022.

Lagos, FCT, and Rivers led in IGR, generating N815.86 billion, N211.10 billion, and N195.41 billion, respectively.

Conversely, Taraba, Yobe, and Kebbi recorded the lowest revenues, with N10.87 billion, N11.19 billion, and N11.74 billion, respectively.

Alarmingly, 18 states that failed to attract any foreign investment between 2021 and 2023 now owe more than their total IGR over that period.

Given these precarious fiscal conditions, it is appalling that many governors continue to misplace governance priorities.

Public schools are in a shambles, with students sitting on bare floors under leaking roofs. In November 2024, Universal Basic Education Commission’s Executive Secretary, Hamid Bobboyi, revealed that 34 states and the FCT had yet to access the N263 billion UBEC matching grant for 2024, undermining primary and junior secondary education.

In 2023, Nigeria’s 36 states allocated N1.39 trillion to healthcare representing just 58.16 per cent of their total N2.3 trillion budget, according to BudgIT’s 2024 State of States report.

Meanwhile, governors are busy opening new government mansions and acquiring luxury aircraft for personal comfort.

Across the country, hospitals lack basic medicines and equipment, yet billions are wasted on new airports in states with little to no commercial air traffic.

In rural areas, villagers do not have access to potable water, electricity, and proper roads and bridges, while governors channel funds into vanity “legacy projects” that are often abandoned halfway. Rivers State’s $400 million monorail project remains unfinished 12 years after construction began.

Governors operate their states like personal empires, with zero transparency. Details of budgets are either hidden from the public or manipulated to justify expenditures.

State legislatures, which should provide checks and balances, are often compromised with bribes and political patronage, rendering them ineffective.

Many states are now so burdened by debt that basic governance is impossible. Some governors take loans they know they cannot repay, leaving a financial mess for their successors. Shockingly, some states use over half of their monthly federal allocations just to service debts, leaving little for development.

Between January and June 2024, the 36 states spent N139.9 billion servicing external debts – a 122 per cent increase from the N63.06 billion spent in the same period in 2023.

Lagos and Kaduna led the pack, spending N32.44 billion and N23 billion, respectively, on debt servicing – together ing for 40 per cent of total sub-national external debt service payments.

Yet, despite these alarming warning signs, the borrowing spree continues unchecked. The Federal Government routinely bails out bankrupt states with more loans, while banks and financial institutions lend recklessly, confident that repayments will be deducted from monthly FAAC allocations. Meanwhile, the debts pile up, and citizens see little to no benefits.

Some governors, however, have shown fiscal responsibility. Anambra’s Chukwuma Soludo refused to access the N438 billion World Bank loan offered to states in 2023, calling it a bad deal.

Similarly, Abia’s Alex Otti announced in November 2024 that he had repaid N90 billion of the N191 billion in loans he inherited without taking on additional debt. Other governors should follow suit to ease the country’s mounting debt crisis.

Debt is not inherently bad as governments worldwide use borrowing to finance development and economic growth. However, prudent management is crucial.

Singapore’s national debt reached $926 billion in December, despite years of budget surpluses and an $800 billion sovereign wealth fund.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority manages a $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, yet the UAE holds a national debt of $114.5 billion. Both countries boast world-class infrastructure that many Western countries envy.

Nigerians must demand ability from their state governments. Civil society organizations must intensify pressure on governors to publish detailed financial records, clearly showing how public funds are spent.

The Federal Government and financial institutions must enforce stricter borrowing conditions, ensuring that loans are used for critical infrastructure rather than wasteful projects.

Most importantly, voters must wake up. The era of electing politicians based on empty promises and party loyalty must end.

Nigerians must demand competent, transparent, and fiscally responsible leaders who prioritize development and public welfare over personal enrichment.

Source: https://punchng.com/state-govs-borrowing-spree-without-impact/