Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representatives, on Monday, September 8, raised alarm over Nigeria’s rising debt profile.

As reported by Daily Trust, Abbas warned that it has crossed the country’s statutory threshold and now threatens fiscal sustainability

Speaking at the opening of the 11th Annual Conference and General Assembly of the West Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC) at the national assembly, Abuja, Abbas said Nigeria’s debt had reached “a critical point” and called for urgent reforms in borrowing practices and oversight.

He said: “As at the first quarter of 2025, Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N149.39 trillion, equivalent to about US$97 billion. This represents a sharp rise from N121.7 trillion the previous year, underscoring how quickly the burden has grown. Even more concerning is the debt-to-GDP ratio, which now stands at roughly 52 percent, well above the statutory ceiling of 40 percent set by our own laws.”

He described the breach of the debt limit as “a signal of strain on fiscal sustainability,” stressing the need for “stronger oversight, transparent borrowing practices, and a collective resolve to ensure that tangible economic and social returns match every naira borrowed.”

Abbas warned that across Africa, several countries are in dangerous debt-to-GDP territories, with governments spending more on servicing loans than on healthcare and essential services.

He said: “This is not just a budgetary concern, but a structural crisis that demands urgent parliamentary attention and coordinated reform.”

To address the growing fiscal risks, Abbas announced that Nigeria is ready to champion the establishment of a West African Parliamentary Debt Oversight Framework under WAAPAC.

The framework, he explained, will harmonise debt reporting across the sub-region, set transparency standards, and empower parliaments with timely data to scrutinise borrowing practices.

He also disclosed plans for a regional capacity-building programme for public accounts and finance committees, equipping members with modern tools for debt sustainability analysis and fiscal risk assessment.

Abbas, while warning against reckless debt, said borrowing should be for the purpose of bridging critical infrastructural gaps.

He said: “Borrowing should support infrastructure, health, education, and industries that create jobs and reduce poverty. Reckless debt that fuels consumption or corruption must be exposed and rejected. Oversight is not just about figures, but about the lives and futures behind those figures.”

Furthermore, the speaker reiterated the 10th house’s commitment to accountability, saying that under its Open Parliament policy, major borrowing proposals would be subjected to public hearings, while simplified debt reports would be made available to citizens.

PETROAN has threatened a three-day suspension of fuel sales over alleged monopolistic practices in the downstream oil sector

They accused Dangote Refinery of adopting aggressive business strategies that could cause job losses

The association urged Nigerians not to be misled by short-term incentives that could eventually replicate the monopolistic scenario seen in the cement industry.

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has issued a three-day notice of suspension of fuel lifting and sales, scheduled to start on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, in protest against alleged monopolistic practices in the downstream petroleum sector.

PETROAN had previously cautioned against Dangote’s forward integration strategy, arguing that it could trigger massive job losses and entrench market dominance.

The association also expressed worry over the company’s acquisition of 4,000 CNG-powered tankers, warning that the move might threaten the survival of current truck drivers and transport operators.

In a statement signed by the association’s National PRO, Dr. Joseph Obele, and released in Abuja, PETROAN’s President, Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry, emphasised that the planned action would be peaceful and within the law.

He noted that the strike is aimed at safeguarding fair competition, defending workers’ welfare, and stabilising fuel prices across the country.

Dr. Gillis-Harry called on President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), the NNPC Group CEO, the Chief Executive of NMDPRA, the DG of DSS, and the Inspector-General of Police to urgently step in to prevent severe hardship for citizens.

He added that since PETROAN pump attendants are registered under NUPENG, they would not be at work during the strike, warning station owners against penalising their staff.

The association expressed strong concerns over the business approach of Dangote Refinery, warning that unchecked dominance could force private depot operators, modular refiners, marketers, and truck owners out of business, thereby fueling unemployment and economic instability.

PETROAN urged Nigerians not to be misled by short-term incentives that could eventually replicate the monopolistic scenario seen in the cement industry. Following an emergency meeting, the association resolved to continue consultations until Monday.

If no progress is made, all member outlets nationwide will commence the strike on Tuesday morning, with a 120-man compliance team deployed to ensure order and safeguard facilities.

PETROAN reiterated its role as a key stakeholder in the oil and gas sector and pledged to work with other players to encourage fair competition, protect jobs, and create an enabling environment for sustainable industry growth and economic benefits.

“The diesel I’d ordered when the price was astronomically higher was already on the high seas, heading for Nigeria. Now, it was worth a fraction of my purchase price. I said to myself, “I’m finished.”

I’d fallen into suffocating debt in mere seconds. What could I do? Still, I remained confident, certain that a solution would arise from somewhere. To make a dire situation even worse, the oil price crash also meant foreign currency flow into Nigeria nosedived. The Central Bank decided to devalue the naira. And with that, my debt load skyrocketed. The loans I took when the exchange rate was N117/US$1 would now have to be paid back at N165/US$1. That was a massive blow. N60 billion was evaporating before my eyes and I was saddled with N40 billion in interest. “

My twin son Kehinde Awoyinfa, CEO of TRIANGLE NIGERIA LTD, a hi-tech home and office design, automation company in Lekki, Lagos, knowing the bibliophilic or book obsessed father he has, had driven to my home last week to give me a surprise. He had bought me one hardcover and one paperback editions of Nigeria’s one-time, big-time diesel-selling entrepreneur Femi Otedola’s latest book, MAKING IT BIG: Lessons From a Life in Business. Unknown to him, I had bought my copy. You can then imagine the young man’s anticlimactic feeling when he came in and found me reading my copy of the Otedola memoir which in all honesty is a master class on entrepreneurship and resilience. Otedola recounts how he monitored oil prices one fateful day and watched his fortune unravel. Oil had been trading at an impressive $147 per barrel. Confident, perhaps even reassured by history, he placed a massive order of diesel worth $500 million for his company Zenon Petroleum. Then the unthinkable happened. Let’s hear this pathetic life, business, and moral lesson story from the horse’s mouth, from Otedola himself:

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I IGNORED MY INNER VOICE

A friend once asked if my instincts told me Zenon was going to be in trouble. I must confess that my inner voice failed me in that instance. It happened overnight—oil prices collapsed and ruined me. I was monitoring the market on my computer and saw oil at US$147 per barrel. I had already ordered diesel worth US$500 million. Then, just like that, it began to go down. It dropped to US$110. I thought it would possibly dip below that. I calculated the odds and felt I would still be OK, but right before my eyes, it crashed to US$37.

The diesel I’d ordered when the price was astronomically higher was already on the high seas, heading for Nigeria. Now, it was worth a fraction of my purchase price. I said to myself, “I’m finished.”

I’d fallen into suffocating debt in mere seconds. What could I do? Still, I remained confident, certain that a solution would arise from somewhere. To make a dire situation even worse, the oil price crash also meant foreign currency flow into Nigeria nosedived. The Central Bank decided to devalue the naira. And with that, my debt load skyrocketed. The loans I took when the exchange rate was N117/US$1 would now have to be paid back at N165/US$1. That was a massive blow. N60 billion was evaporating before my eyes and I was saddled with N40 billion in interest.

I resisted the impulse to sell my bank shares, which would later be one my greatest regrets. I’d have made huge profits if I had done so. I had bought into Zenith Bank at N12 per share and would have made N110 billion if I had exited when the price rose to N60. I owned 2.3 billion shares, which represented an 8% ownership stake in Zenith. I had 6% of the United Bank for Africa, and I would have cashed out with N81 billion. In total, I would have reaped N191 billion windfall. But that was not to be.

My total debt from the oil crash catastrophe was N200 billion. The stock market crashed because of the oil price crash, and those shares were worth next to nothing. Such things are always clearer in the rear-view mirror, but if only I had followed my instincts.

On the other hand, when the opportunity presented itself to pay off the debts by giving up my properties to AMCON—a lifeboat in the Nigerian economic crisis—I disregarded those who advised against doing so and jumped at the opportunity. The time comes when you have to concede that if you sink, you sink, and if you grab onto a life preserver, you’ll stay afloat. On this occasion, I was ready for it. I gave up extensive property holdings in exchange for debt relief and set out to rebuild my life.

I relinquished ownership of truck parks and land in Lagos, buildings and estates in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, filling stations all over the country, a Bombardier private jet, stock in various banks and oil companies, and fuel storage tank farms near Apapa. I gave it all up to start anew.

The experience showed me that there is no absolute certainty in life. If God wants to take anything from you, it will not take him one minute. Look at me: my financial life was upended in a span of one week. Great wealth can be wiped from the books in the blink of an eye.

I look back and conclude that I had to experience what I did to be able to move to the next phase of my life. I was now free of debt and more introspective about entrepreneurship. I suppose it had to happen at one point in life or another in my life. If it did not happen then, it would later. Let us assume that oil prices had not collapsed, I would have gone upstream. I would have continued taking on more debt, pursuing more high-flying opportunities. One day, at some point down the road, oil prices would eventually crash, because the market is cyclical, and I would have found myself in even greater debt and bigger trouble.

I suffered to learn and I am better off than I was before the Zenon crisis.

SOMETIMES, YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON BEING PRAGMATIC

While I am a believer in following my instincts, I can be flexible in that regard. I look at the bigger picture and choose rigid pragmatism at times. But being too stiff can also be a problem. Ignoring your intuition can be harmful, while relying solely on it can be counterproductive. Life experience will teach you who and what to trust, and when. By and large, I follow my instincts. I am pleased with many decisions that were based on my visceral sense of what to do, such as settling my debts with my properties. That’s the best decision of my life. Separating family from my business was another excellent decision. Handing over management to a new team of professionals was also the right way to go. I followed my instincts, and I am better for it.