The Federal Government has dismissed claims that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has borrowed about ₦80 trillion within three years, describing the figure as misleading and largely driven by accounting adjustments rather than fresh loans.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, gave the clarification while appearing before the Senate Committee on Finance on Monday to brief lawmakers on the state of the economy.
Responding to concerns over reports that the administration had accumulated about ₦80 trillion in new borrowing in addition to the ₦75 trillion public debt it inherited, Oyedele said the figures being circulated did not represent actual fresh borrowing by the government.
He explained that Nigeria’s public debt stood at about ₦75 trillion when the Tinubu administration assumed office, but subsequent economic reforms and the depreciation of the naira significantly increased the naira value of the country’s foreign-denominated debt.
“When this administration came into office, public debt was around ₦75 trillion. Many people simply compare that figure with today’s debt stock and conclude that this government has borrowed massively.
“However, following the reforms and the depreciation of the naira, the foreign currency component of our public debt had to be revalued because Nigeria reports its debt in naira. That accounting adjustment alone added more than ₦40 trillion to the public debt figure,” he said.
The minister further stated that the securitisation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Ways and Means advances, approved by the National Assembly, contributed about ₦33 trillion to the debt stock.
He said the amount did not constitute new borrowing but represented existing obligations that were formally converted and recognised as part of Nigeria’s public debt.
Meanwhile, members of the Senate Committee on Finance expressed concerns over what they described as inadequate implementation of the capital component of the 2026 budget.
