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ABUJA – The Federal Government, on Monday, dismissed claims that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has borrowed about N80 trillion in its three years in office, describing such figures as misleading and the product of accounting adjustments, exchange rate revaluation and inaccurate public reporting.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, made the clarification while briefing the Senate Committee on Finance on the state of the nation’s economy.
Responding to concerns raised by Senator Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi Central), who questioned reports suggesting that the present administration had accumulated about N80 trillion in fresh debt in addition to the roughly N75 trillion it inherited, Oyedele said the figures being circulated did not reflect the true borrowing profile of the government.
According to him, the sharp increase in Nigeria’s reported public debt is largely the result of the depreciation of the naira, which significantly increased the naira value of the country’s foreign currency obligations.
“When this administration came into office, public debt was around N75 trillion. Many people simply compare that figure with today’s debt stock and conclude that this government has borrowed massively,” he said.
“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 N40 trillion to the public debt figure.”
Oyedele further explained that another major factor behind the apparent rise in public debt was the securitisation of the Ways and Means advances obtained by the previous administration from the Central Bank of Nigeria, a process approved by the National Assembly.
He said the exercise added about N33 trillion to the official debt stock without constituting fresh borrowing.
“That was not new borrowing. It was simply bringing previously existing obligations onto the official debt books,” he stated.
“These factors have not always been properly explained, which is why the reported public debt appears much larger.”
The minister stressed that the actual borrowing undertaken by the Tinubu administration was “nowhere near” the figures being quoted in public discourse.
He also explained that much of the domestic borrowing undertaken by the government was for refinancing maturing obligations rather than creating new debt.
“Even for domestic borrowing, much of it is refinancing. Debt that was borrowed previously matures, and government raises new debt to refinance it.
That is not new borrowing,” he said. Oyedele maintained that the administration had exercised restraint in its borrowing strategy, insisting that loans were being channelled into infrastructure and other productive investments rather than recurrent expenditure.
“This administration has been very responsible in its borrowing. We understand the concerns of Nigerians and of the distinguished senators, but we remain fully committed to debt sustainability.
“We see debt as leverage. Every naira and every dollar borrowed should generate more value than the amount borrowed,” he added.
Despite the minister’s explanations, members of the committee expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of implementation of the capital component of the 2026 Appropriation Act.
Senate Chief Whip, Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), criticised the slow release of funds for capital projects, warning that failure to implement an appropriation law amounted to a serious constitutional breach.
Senator Aliero also expressed concern over what he described as poor execution of the capital budget despite legislative approval.
However, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), appealed for patience, assuring lawmakers that the implementation of the capital component of the 2026 budget would soon gain momentum.
Speaking after a closed-door session with the minister and members of the Federal Government’s economic management team, Musa said discussions focused on strengthening budget implementation and improving revenue management.
According to him, the government is considering replacing the existing envelope budgeting system with a performance- and priority-based budgeting framework to enhance efficiency and accountability.
He also disclosed that authorities were reviewing a return to the previous payment model for contractors as part of broader reforms aimed at improving budget execution and accelerating infrastructure delivery.
