PRESS STATEMENT
Revolutionary Socialist Movement (RSM)
Date: 1st April 2026
RSM Condemns Senate Approval of $6 Billion Loan as Anti-People and Irresponsible
The Revolutionary Socialist Movement (RSM) strongly condemns the recent approval by the Nigerian Senate of a $6 billion external loan request. This decision once again exposes the anti-people character of the ruling political elite, who continue to mortgage the future of the working class and the poor in the interest of sustaining a failed capitalist system.
At a time when millions of Nigerians are grappling with deepening poverty, mass unemployment, skyrocketing inflation, and collapsing public services, the reckless accumulation of debt adds to the burden that working people pay. Rather than addressing the root causes of the economic crisis and insecurity the government has chosen the path of endless borrowing, pushing the country further into a debt trap.
We reject the justification often given by the government that such loans are meant for “development.” Experience has shown that these funds rarely translate into meaningful improvements in the lives of ordinary people of Nigeria. Instead, they are siphoned through corrupt contracts, inflated projects, and sponsoring a flamboyant lifestyle of the ruling class, while workers and the masses are left to bear the burden through increased taxation, austerity measures, and declining living standards.
Nigeria already spends a large portion of its revenue just paying interest. More loans can tighten this further, leaving less money for salaries, infrastructure and social services.
The Senate’s approval of this loan further demonstrates its role as a rubber-stamp institution, serving the interests of the executive and the capitalist class rather than representing the interest of the Nigerian masses.
RSM calls on workers, youth, students, and all oppressed layers of Nigeria to reject this unjust debt regime and to organize a mass struggle against these ruinous policies that prioritize profit over people.
We demand:
- An independent public audit of Nigeria’s debts. Ordinary people will not pay for loans that were pocketed by corrupt officials and enterprises.
- Repudiate the debt so funds can be channeled towards investment in public services (healthcare, education, housing) and infrastructure (transportation, energy) under democratic control.
- Fight to alleviate all Nigerians from extreme poverty- tax capital to pay for this.
- A break from neoliberal economic policies that have impoverished the masses.
We reaffirm our position that only a socialist transformation of Nigeria where all major sectors of the economy are collectively owned, democratically planned and controlled by the working class can guarantee a future free from exploitation, debt slavery, and poverty.
The time has come to resist, organize, and build a movement capable of reclaiming Nigeria for the working class political alternative.
Salako Kayode
RSM
Publicity Secretary
