Photo: President Tinubu I Makkah

President Bola Tinubu on Friday commenced performing Umrah at Makkah in Saudi Arabia, praying for the nation and for every Nigerian to live in peace and harmony.

Tinubu on Thursday evening arrived in Saudi Arabia, landing at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

He was received by Nigeria’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Yakubu Gambo, and the Saudi head of royal protocol Ahmad bin Thafir.

Thursday’s trip marks the second time Tinubu has travelled to Makkah to perform Umrah since assuming office on May 29, 2023.

President Tinubu visited the holy city in November 2023, shortly after attending the Saudi-African Summit in Riyadh, where he also prayed for divine guidance in leading Nigeria.

The latest trip is part of a series of foreign engagements undertaken by Tinubu since becoming president. He has visited more than 30 countries in over 50 unique and recurring trips.

The President is expected to return to Nigeria next week after completing the religious exercise.

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has expressed conviction that the proposed state police will be ready on or before December 2026, given that 30 State Houses of Assembly have officially approved the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill, 2026.

Speaking on the Bill on Thursday, the Leader of the Senate declared that multi-tier policing in Nigeria has moved from a recurring political promise into an actionable constitutional reality.

Bamidele, who also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, made the disclosure while delivering a paper at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State.

He addressed participants of the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 48 on the topic, “Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Governance through Proactive Lawmaking.”

Highlighting the historic milestone, Bamidele explained that the 30 state approvals comfortably satisfy the two-thirds concurrency requirement mandated by Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

President Bola Tinubu’s request for approval to borrow $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion has intensified debate over Nigeria’s rising debt burden and its long-term implications.

Nigeria’s external debt climbed from $43.16 billion in June 2023 to $54.52 billion in June 2026 — an increase of $11.36 billion, or 26.3%. Over the same period, total public debt rose from ₦87.38 trillion to ₦166.79 trillion, a jump of roughly 90.9%.

When the latest loan request is combined with previously approved but undrawn financing, potential external debt exposure could reach about $81.96 billion if all facilities are fully drawn and there is no overlap. Officials stress this remains an illustrative figure rather than current outstanding debt.

The government says the new borrowing will finance critical development projects. Critics, however, are demanding greater transparency. They want clear evidence of what earlier loans have delivered — completed roads, functional hospitals, power projects that have increased electricity supply, and measurable gains for businesses and households facing high living costs.

Questions are also being raised about the scale of new borrowing at a time when government revenues are reported to be rising, and amid concerns from lawmakers about inadequate capital releases to ministries under previous budgets.

Opposition voices and civil society groups are calling for the National Assembly to insist on full disclosure before approving further loans. They want a project-by-project register of external loans since May 2023, showing amounts borrowed and disbursed, loan terms, project locations, implementation status and independently verified results. They also seek a clear assessment of future debt-service obligations and the risks from exchange-rate movements.

Borrowing can support development when investments produce measurable returns and repayment remains sustainable. The central issue, observers say, is not only how much more debt Nigeria can carry, but what citizens receive in return.

The National Assembly is expected to subject the requests to rigorous scrutiny.