Nigeria: Govt Denies Borrowing N80trn, Says Debt Figures Exaggerated

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a Leadership report from Abuja, said Nigeria’s federal government has rejected claims that President Bola Tinubu’s administration borrowed about ₦80 trillion in three years. Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Taiwo Oyedele made the denial on Monday while briefing the Senate Committee on Finance about the state of the economy.

According to the report, Oyedele was responding to Senator Adamu Aliero of Kebbi Central, who asked about allegations that the current government had added ₦80 trillion to an inherited debt stock of about ₦75 trillion. The minister said the comparison between the debt level at the start of the administration and the current figure was misleading because it included accounting effects rather than only fresh borrowing.

Oyedele attributed much of the increase to the naira revaluation of foreign-currency debt after exchange-rate reforms, which he said added more than ₦40 trillion when reported in naira. He also pointed to the securitisation of Ways and Means advances from the previous administration, saying about ₦33 trillion was brought onto the official debt books after National Assembly approval. He added that some domestic borrowing represented refinancing of maturing obligations, not new debt.

The report said some senators, including Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno and Aliero, challenged the minister over non-implementation of the capital component of the 2026 budget. Committee chair Sani Musa said capital budget implementation would soon become visible and said officials were considering performance- and priority-based budgeting as an alternative to the envelope system. The dispute matters because Nigeria’s debt levels, currency reforms and budget execution remain central to public concern over fiscal sustainability and development spending.