The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has defended the federal government’s borrowing profile, arguing that critics lack an understanding of public finance and that Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio remains well below that of Egypt, South Africa, and Senegal.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has vigorously defended the Federal Government’s growing borrowing profile, insisting that Nigeria still maintains a substantial economic capacity to absorb more sovereign loans. In a public statement shared on his official X account, Onanuga pushed back against mounting domestic criticisms regarding the rising national debt burden under the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration. The presidential spokesperson explicitly asserted that many of the citizens and public commentators raising alarms over the government’s fiscal trajectory lack a fundamental and proper understanding of international economics and public finance structures.
Onanuga’s public intervention was a direct response to an alternative analysis posted by a social media user named Akinwumi, who had drawn stark comparisons between Nigeria’s debt dynamics and those of other major emerging markets on the continent. According to the data highlighted in the online exchange, North African economic giant Egypt carries a total national debt estimated at over $400 billion against a gross domestic product (GDP) of around $390 billion, pushing its debt-to-GDP ratio past the 100 percent mark. Similarly, the data indicated that South Africa’s total debt burden hovers around $580 billion against an estimated GDP of roughly $420 billion, translating to an even higher debt-to-GDP ratio of approximately 135 percent.
In sharp contrast to these heavily leveraged continental peers, Onanuga emphasized that Nigeria’s overall public debt profile remains highly conservative and fiscally sustainable. He noted that the federation’s total public debt is estimated at about $110 billion framed against a national GDP of around $340 billion, which translates to a manageable debt-to-GDP ratio of roughly 35 percent. By drawing further parallels with the West African nation of Senegal, the presidential aide maintained that the administration’s strategic loan acquisitions are well within safe macroeconomic margins, arguing that debt sustainability should be measured by production output rather than the nominal size of the obligations.
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