The Federal Government has dismissed claims that the President Bola Tinubu administration borrowed ₦80 trillion within its first three years in office, insisting that the figures being circulated are misleading.
The clarification was made by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, during a briefing before the Senate Committee on Finance on the state of Nigeria’s economy.
According to Oyedele, many people wrongly assume the increase in the country’s debt stock is solely the result of fresh borrowing, without considering the impact of economic reforms and exchange rate adjustments.
He explained that Nigeria’s public debt stood at about ₦75 trillion when the Tinubu administration took office, but 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,” Oyedele said.
The minister noted that the revaluation of Nigeria’s foreign debt following the naira’s depreciation added over ₦40 trillion to the country’s debt profile.
“That accounting adjustment alone added more than ₦40 trillion to the public debt figure,” he explained.
Oyedele also stated that the securitisation of the Ways and Means advances, which was approved by the National Assembly, contributed another ₦33 trillion to the debt stock.
He stressed that this amount was not a new loan, but an existing obligation that was formally recognised and reflected in the country’s debt records.
Despite the explanation, members of the Senate Committee on Finance expressed concerns over what they described as the poor implementation of the capital component of the 2026 budget.
The Federal Government maintained that the rise in Nigeria’s debt profile should not be interpreted as fresh borrowing alone, as a significant portion resulted from accounting adjustments and existing financial obligations.
