FG Rejects ₦80 Trillion Borrowing Claims, Blames Debt Rise On Naira Revaluation
FG Explains Nigeria’s Rising Debt Figures
THE Federal Government has dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu’s administration borrowed about ₦80 trillion within its first three years in office, insisting that the figures circulating in the public domain do not accurately reflect the country’s borrowing profile.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, made the clarification while briefing the Senate Committee on Finance, explaining that the reported increase in Nigeria’s public debt largely resulted from exchange rate revaluation and accounting adjustments rather than fresh borrowing.
Naira Depreciation Inflated Debt Stock
Responding to questions from Senator Adamu Aliero during the session, Oyedele explained that Nigeria’s public debt stood at about ₦75 trillion when the current administration assumed office.
He noted that following the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market and the subsequent depreciation of the naira, the country’s foreign currency-denominated obligations had to be revalued in local currency, significantly increasing the reported debt stock.
According to the minister, the exchange rate adjustment alone added more than ₦40 trillion to the debt figure without representing new loans obtained by the government.
He stressed that comparing the current debt stock with previous figures without considering exchange rate movements creates a misleading impression of excessive borrowing.
Ways and Means Also Increased Debt Figures
Oyedele further explained that another major contributor to the apparent increase was the securitisation of the Ways and Means advances previously obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria by the last administration.
The process, which received approval from the National Assembly, converted existing obligations into official public debt, adding approximately ₦33 trillion to the country’s debt stock.
He emphasised that this exercise merely formalised already existing liabilities rather than creating new debt.
The minister also stated that much of the government’s domestic borrowing has been used to refinance maturing obligations instead of accumulating additional liabilities.
Senators Raise Budget Implementation Concerns
Despite the explanations, members of the Senate Committee expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of implementation of the capital component of the 2026 Appropriation Act.
Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno warned that delayed capital releases could undermine infrastructure delivery and amount to poor implementation of an Act passed by the National Assembly.
Committee Chairman Senator Sani Musa, however, assured lawmakers that efforts were underway to accelerate budget execution.
He disclosed that government was considering replacing the current envelope budgeting model with a performance-based budgeting framework while also reviewing contractor payment processes to improve efficiency, accountability and project delivery.
