Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The World Bank has triggered a new wave of outrage by restricting comments on its official Instagram page after hundreds of Nigerians flooded the platform with appeals urging the financial institution to halt further lending to the administration of President Bola Tinubu. The comment restrictions, which appeared on Thursday, May 14, 2026, were observed just two days after reports emerged that the Federal Government was in advanced discussions with the World Bank for a fresh $1.25 billion loan facility. As Nigerians continued to voice their anger over the country’s mounting debt profile and harsh economic realities, the bank quietly limited interaction on some of its posts, displaying the notice: “Comments on this post have been limited.”
The proposed loan, titled “Nigeria Actions for Investment and Jobs Acceleration,” is scheduled for consideration by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on June 26, 2026, barely six months and 21 days before the presidential election scheduled for January 16, 2027. If approved, the facility would rank as the second‑largest single World Bank loan secured under President Tinubu, behind only the $1.5 billion “Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation” loan approved in June 2024. At the prevailing exchange rate of N1,361.4 to the dollar, the proposed $1.25 billion facility translates to approximately N1.70 trillion, underscoring the scale of external financing being pursued by the Federal Government amid ongoing economic reforms and mounting fiscal pressures.
Nigerians reacted furiously to the reports. Under the World Bank’s Instagram posts, users left a barrage of messages demanding an end to further lending. “Dear @WorldBankGroup, why did you lock your comments section on Instagram? Nigerians are telling you to stop giving our Criminal Leaders Billions in Loans that only gets Stolen,” one user wrote. Others warned that continued lending would deepen the debt trap and enable elite capture, alleging that the funds fuel corruption rather than alleviate poverty affecting over 60 percent of Nigerians. “They want to give so much loan that the country won’t be able to pay back, so they can control our resources,” one user wrote. “Stop giving Tinubu loans, he is not using it for the citizens,” another added. On X (formerly Twitter), the sentiment was similar. One user wrote, “World bank abeg stop borrowing us Nigerians money again our greedy politicians are using it to enrich themselves at our detriment.”
The backlash comes as Nigeria’s debt profile has reached alarming levels. As of April 15, 2026, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said Nigeria’s public debt for federal and state governments hit N159.27 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. President Tinubu himself recently declared that Nigeria would spend about $11.6 billion (over N15 trillion) on debt servicing alone in 2026, nearly half of the country’s projected revenue for the year. The amount indicates a significant surge from the $5.21 billion spent on external debt servicing in 2025, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). In effect, for every N10 earned by the government last year, almost N7 went toward repaying existing debt. If the proposed $1.25 billion facility is approved, total World Bank commitments to Nigeria under Tinubu would rise to about $10.6 billion, reinforcing the bank’s role as a major external financier for Nigeria’s reform agenda. The World Bank has approved about $9.35 billion in loans and credits for Nigeria between June 2023 and May 2026 across sectors including power, education, healthcare, agriculture, social protection, renewable energy, MSME financing, and economic reform support.
The timing of the proposed approval has also drawn scrutiny. The June 26, 2026 date falls just months before the presidential election, leading critics to question whether the borrowed funds are intended for election‑related spending. The opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) accused the administration of running a “Ponzi economy,” noting that the government is borrowing to service old loans. “ADC is deeply alarmed by the Tinubu administration’s latest move to seek another fresh $1.25 billion World Bank loan, coming barely weeks after the National Assembly approved yet another round of external borrowing running into billions of dollars,” the party said in a statement. The ADC recalled that President Tinubu had declared that Nigeria would spend about $11.6 billion on debt servicing in 2026, arguing that such huge sums could have been used to build roads, hospitals, schools, electricity, and security infrastructure.
World Bank officials, however, have pushed back against claims that the comment restriction was intentional. A senior World Bank official who spoke anonymously told AMC News24 that the issue was most likely technical and not connected to the reactions trailing the proposed loan request. “The World Bank would not shut its comment section because of remarks from Nigerians,” the source said, noting that critical comments and online reactions were common on the organisation’s social media platforms across different countries. The official further stressed that the institution routinely receives varying feedback and does not censor public discourse. However, observers noted that the situation appeared to be device‑specific: the comment feature was unavailable when accessed through some iPhone devices, while users accessing the same page through Android phones could still view and post comments normally. The mixed user experience led to uncertainty over whether the issue resulted from deliberate moderation efforts or a temporary technical problem affecting certain devices or application versions.
The controversy has drawn attention to Nigeria’s deepening reliance on multilateral financing under Tinubu. Since assuming office in May 2023, the administration has implemented major economic changes, including the removal of the fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira. The measures initially unleashed the worst inflation crisis in nearly three decades, but have since helped restore a measure of macroeconomic stability and improved dollar liquidity. Federation revenues almost doubled to N31.9 trillion in 2024 from N16.8 trillion in 2023, while authorities expect further gains as tax reforms widen the revenue base. Yet the government’s debt burden has risen almost in tandem with revenues, limiting the fiscal breathing room created by the reforms. Debt‑service costs consumed 78 percent of federal revenue in 2023 and 69 percent in 2024 – far above the 30 percent to 40 percent threshold international financial institutions typically consider sustainable.
Economists warn that Nigeria risks behaving like a household using new credit cards to keep paying old bills. “We do not have much problem with collecting loans, but what you actually do with borrowed funds is the critical challenge of Nigeria,” said Eze Onyekpere, lead director at the Centre for Social Justice. “If you borrow for consumption and recurrent expenditure, you are not building your capacity for future repayment.” Seth Akutson, an Abuja‑based economist, argued that borrowing itself is not inherently problematic if it supports growth‑enhancing projects, but expressed concern about fiscal discipline. “My concern really is fiscal discipline. If we are borrowing for a particular project, that fund must be judiciously expended on it so we can get value for the money,” he said.
Despite the outcry, the Federal Government has shown no sign of backing down. Officials say the latest loan will support tax reforms, trade competitiveness, and agricultural productivity – part of a broader effort to rebuild an economy battered by years of weak revenues, costly subsidies, and chronic foreign‑exchange shortages. The government maintains that the measures are necessary for long‑term stability, but for many Nigerians online, the scale of foreign borrowing continues to raise questions about future obligations and economic direction. A senior government official, who asked not to be named, told our correspondent that “the loan is critical for the government’s reform agenda and will be used for productive purposes.” The official dismissed the online protests as “misinformed” and insisted that the government remains committed to fiscal discipline.
As the June 26 approval date approaches, the World Bank faces a delicate balancing act: supporting a struggling economy while managing a public relations backlash from ordinary Nigerians who fear they will be left to repay debts they never consented to. The restriction of Instagram comments, whether intentional or technical, has only amplified the distrust. One commenter who managed to post before the restriction took effect captured the mood succinctly: “Please do not borrow Tinubu money again.” The World Bank may have muted the voices, but it has not silenced the question: who will pay for the loans that keep coming?
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments