Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who represents the Abia North Senatorial District, believes that without borrowing money, Nigeria’s economy could fall apart.
He shared this view during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he responded to complaints that lawmakers approve too many loan requests from the government.
Many people are worried because Nigeria’s debt is getting higher. Critics think the National Assembly isn’t doing enough to question or stop the government’s borrowing plans.
But Kalu, who was once the Senate Chief Whip, defended the lawmakers. When asked if they properly check loan requests, he said the process is working as it should.
“If Nigeria doesn’t borrow, the economy will collapse. That’s the truth,” he said.
He explained that there are special committees in the National Assembly that go through both local and foreign loan requests. Even though he isn’t part of the debt committee, he believes they are doing their job. He also said the National Assembly is fulfilling its duties.
In April 2025, Nigeria finished paying off a $3.4 billion loan from the IMF. The country had taken this loan during the COVID-19 crisis to support the economy.
However, Nigeria still has to pay about $30 million every year in fees related to that loan, called Special Drawing Rights (SDR) charges.
Even after clearing that debt, Nigeria plans to borrow $26 billion between 2025 and 2026. The government says it needs the money to close budget gaps and help the economy grow. But many Nigerians are not happy about it. Some have accused lawmakers of acting like a “rubber stamp” by approving anything the president wants.
Kalu strongly disagrees with that view. He said that any law or approval from the National Assembly goes through the correct steps.
“Once a law or bill follows the full process, I’m okay with it. That’s what lawmaking is about,” he said.
He also rejected the idea that lawmakers don’t check the executive branch enough. To prove that they are doing their job, he mentioned how hard they worked on the recent tax bill.
“We are very serious about our work,” Kalu said. “People just want to see us fight the executive. But we are adults. We have our own ways of checking and balancing things.”
He added that he even visited the Senate President’s house to thank him after the tax bill passed. According to Kalu, they had many late meetings to carefully go over the bill, showing how thorough they were.
“That’s not something a rubber stamp does,” he concluded.
