Nigeria’s President Tinubu’s supporters holds banks responsible for economic downturn

Nigeria

Dooyum Naadzenga 

In a startling statement, the Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu Support Group (AATSG) has publicly accused Nigeria’s powerful banking sector of sabotaging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by imposing sky-high lending rates that have reached as much as 48%. 

The group warns that these predatory rates, justified by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s record-high 26.25% Monetary Policy Rate, threaten to derail key pillars of the president’s economic promise: industrialization, local production, and the empowerment of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

AATSG reveals that the ten largest banks recorded a massive ₦14.26trn in interest income in 2024—almost double their 2023 haul—while entrepreneurs and small businesses are being crushed under unbearable financing costs. 

The group argues that instead of fueling local manufacturing and innovation, banks are encouraging import dependency and unproductive trading, turning Nigeria into a “consumer market rather than a producing nation.”

Charging the financial system with “clear sabotage,” AATSG is demanding urgent intervention from the government, including a new interest rate framework prioritizing production and job creation, incentive-driven lending to critical sectors, and regulatory reforms to ensure banks serve as drivers—not gatekeepers—of national prosperity.

As Nigeria stands at an economic crossroads, AATSG’s warning reverberates: “Our choices today will echo our nation’s future. Let us choose the path of national development, not commercial greed.”