A United States-based advocacy firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has called on international financial institutions to suspend new loans to Nigeria ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The firm made the call in a statement shared on its X handle while reacting to reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is seeking billions of dollars in financing from international lenders.
According to the firm, Nigeria’s request for loans from the World Bank, European Investment Bank (EIB) and France’s Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is coming only months before the 2027 general election.
It stated: “The Nigerian presidential election is a few months away, and, on cue, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu (@officialABAT) is seeking billions of dollars from the @WorldBank and, not surprisingly, from the European Investment Bank (@EIB) and France’s Agence Française de Développement (@AFD_France).
“Nigeria takes on loans, funds disappear, politicians buy houses in the U.S. and EU, while ordinary Nigerians struggle to feed their families. We will reach out to the @WorldBank, where the U.S. is a stakeholder.
“Given Nigeria’s history of corruption, loans should be paused until Nigerians elect their next leaders.”