By Emmanuel Onyedika
The Federal Government has dismissed reports that Nigeria’s debt profile under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has risen to N80 trillion, insisting that borrowing by the current administration is nowhere near that figure.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, stated this on Monday while briefing the Senate Committee on Finance on the state of the nation’s economy.
Responding to Senator Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi Central), who raised concerns about alleged N80 trillion debt in addition to the N75 trillion inherited, Oyedele said the figures were misleading. He explained that the increase was due to accounting adjustments and not fresh borrowing.
“When this administration came into office, public debt was around N75 trillion. Many people simply compare that with today’s debt stock and conclude that this government has borrowed massively,” he said.
According to him, naira depreciation forced the revaluation of the foreign currency component of public debt. “That accounting adjustment alone added more than N40 trillion to the public debt figure because Nigeria reports its debt in naira,” he explained.
He further noted that the securitization of Ways and Means advances approved by the National Assembly added about N33 trillion to the public debt. “It was not new borrowing; it was simply bringing previously existing obligations onto the official debt books,” Oyedele clarified.
The minister insisted that borrowing under the Tinubu administration has been responsible and strictly for infrastructure. “We see debt as leverage. Every naira and every dollar borrowed should generate more value than the amount borrowed. We remain fully committed to debt sustainability,” he added.
The committee, however, expressed concern over the non-implementation of the capital component of the 2026 budget. Senate Chief Whip, Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), described the development as an impeachable offence, while Senator Aliero also raised alarm over the delay.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), assured that implementation of capital projects would soon be felt nationwide. “Performance and priority-based budgeting system is being looked at, to replace the envelope system and also reverting back to old system of payments for contractors,” Musa said after a closed-door session with the economic team.