By James Adamu
The Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO) has called for an open investigation into the Federal Government’s reported commitment of about 340 million barrels of Nigeria’s future crude oil production to secure foreign loans estimated at N11.2 trillion.
The campaign organisation accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of mortgaging the country’s future through opaque crude oil-backed financing arrangements, warning that the transactions could burden generations of Nigerians with debt obligations stretching to 2034.
In a statement issued on Thursday, MDPCO’s Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, said the loans were reportedly secured through Project Gazelle, Project Gazelle II, Project Leopard and Project Leopard II.
The organisation demanded that Tinubu publicly disclose the identities of the lenders, the loan amounts, interest rates, management fees, repayment schedules and the precise volume of crude oil committed under the arrangements.
“President Tinubu should give a public explanation on the loan arrangements,” the campaign organisation said, insisting that Nigerians deserved to know the pricing formula for the crude oil deliveries, the outstanding liabilities being refinanced and the full financial implications of the transactions.
Describing the arrangements as an act of fiscal recklessness, MDPCO said the administration had sacrificed future oil revenues to finance present expenditure without demonstrating corresponding investments in industrial development, infrastructure and improved living standards.
It warned that the fixed repayment obligations could prevent Nigeria from fully benefiting from increases in international crude oil prices, thereby reducing future revenues and limiting the country’s financial flexibility.
The organisation also recalled its earlier warning that Tinubu was leading Nigeria towards the financial predicament of 19th-century Egypt under Khedive Ismail, whose excessive foreign borrowing and spending eventually culminated in British occupation in 1882.
“A nation that repeatedly pledges its future revenues to finance present excesses risks surrendering its economic independence,” it said.
MDPCO lamented that the alleged borrowings were taking place amid worsening living conditions, with Nigerians battling hunger, poorly funded public hospitals and deteriorating highways.
It further faulted the lack of public disclosure surrounding the transactions, insisting that commodity-backed financing arrangements must demonstrate clear economic returns and measurable public benefits.
The organisation called on the National Assembly to subject the loans to rigorous legislative scrutiny and to convene an open public hearing to examine the agreements, determine the full extent of Nigeria’s crude oil commitments and assess their implications for Federation Account revenues and long-term fiscal sustainability.
“Economic success is not measured by borrowing or debt restructuring, but by tangible gains in production, jobs, infrastructure, industry and living standards,” it said.
MDPCO urged Nigerians to reject what it described as another cycle of economic experimentation and unfulfilled promises, and to vote out the APC in the 2027 presidential election.
It advocated support for the APM presidential campaign of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, saying his Reset Nigeria agenda was anchored on productive economic management, transparent utilisation of national resources, industrial development and sustainable wealth creation.
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