FG Denies ₦80tn Borrowing Claims, Explains Debt Increase

The Federal Government has dismissed claims that the administration of President Bola Tinubu borrowed about ₦80 trillion within three years, insisting that the figures being circulated are misleading and largely reflect accounting adjustments rather than fresh loans.

The clarification was made by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, while briefing the Senate Committee on Finance on the state of the nation’s economy.

Addressing concerns raised by lawmakers over reports that the current administration had added about ₦80 trillion to the ₦75 trillion debt it inherited, Oyedele said the widely reported figures do not accurately represent new borrowing.

According to him, Nigeria’s public debt stood at about ₦75 trillion when President Tinubu assumed office. However, economic reforms and the depreciation of the naira significantly increased the naira value of the country’s external 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.

Oyedele further explained that the securitisation of the Ways and Means advances approved by the National Assembly added about ₦33 trillion to the public debt stock.

He stressed that the amount should not be regarded as new borrowing, noting that it represented existing obligations that were formally recognised in the government’s debt records.

Meanwhile, members of the Senate Committee on Finance expressed concern over what they described as the poor implementation of the capital component of the 2026 budget, urging the government to improve the execution of key infrastructure and development projects.