The Federal Government has denied claims that the Tinubu administration borrowed about N80 trillion in three years, with Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele telling the Senate that much of the figure reflects naira devaluation and the securitisation of existing Ways and Means advances rather than new loans.
The Federal Government has denied claims that President Bola Tinubu’s administration borrowed about N80 trillion within three years, describing the figure as misleading and largely reflective of accounting changes rather than new loans.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, made the clarification while briefing the Senate Committee on Finance on the country’s economy.
Daily Post reports that lawmakers had questioned reports that the current administration borrowed about N80 trillion in addition to the N75 trillion debt it inherited.
However, Oyedele said the figures being circulated and reported by some media outlets do not accurately reflect the actual amount of fresh borrowing.
“When this administration came into office, public debt was around N75tn. Many people simply compare that figure with today’s debt stock and conclude that this government has borrowed massively,” he said.
According to the minister, the sharp fall in the value of the naira increased the naira value of Nigeria’s foreign debt, since the country’s total debt is recorded in naira.
“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 ₦40tn to the public debt figure,” he explained.
Oyedele also said about N33 trillion was added to the debt stock after the National Assembly approved the securitisation of the Ways and Means advances, stressing that this was not new borrowing but the formal recognition of existing obligations.
Meanwhile, members of the Senate Committee on Finance expressed concern over what they described as the poor implementation of capital projects contained in the 2026 budget.
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