The World Bank has restricted comments on its Instagram page following pleas by Nigerians on the social media platform urging the financial institution to stop approving loan requests by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Two days ago, the federal government said it had stepped up
engagement with the World Bank for a fresh $1.25 billion loan to support
economic reforms and job creation.
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 (Q4) of 2025.
On Tuesday, President Tinubu said Nigeria would spend $11.6
billion on debt servicing in 2026.
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).
He said nearly half of Nigeria’s projected revenue for 2026
would go into servicing debt under the current global financial system.
However, reacting to a post by the financial institution on
Instagram, some Nigerians appealed to the World Bank to stop lending to
Africa’s most populous country.
Many accused the federal government of diverting the loans
meant for fixing the country’s economy.
Screenshots circulating on social media show hundreds of
comments by Nigerians highlighting the harsh economic realities facing ordinary
citizens — sky-high inflation, fuel subsidy removal pains, rising insecurity,
mass unemployment, and collapsing infrastructure.
“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 social media user wrote
on Instagram.
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.
The World Bank has not publicly responded to the outcry, but
the financial institution limited comments on its post.
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