The Federal Government has dismissed reports claiming that President Bola Tinubu’s administration borrowed approximately N80 trillion in just three years, describing the figure as misleading.
The government clarified that the sharp rise in the debt stock is largely due to accounting adjustments and the revaluation of existing foreign loans caused by naira devaluation, rather than new borrowing.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, made the clarification during an economic briefing with the Senate Committee on Finance on Monday, July 20.
Lawmakers had expressed concern over reports suggesting the current administration added nearly N80 trillion to the N75 trillion debt it inherited in 2023.
Oyedele explained that simply comparing the debt figures at the beginning and end of the administration does not reflect actual new loans.
> “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.
The minister highlighted that the significant depreciation of the naira led to a massive increase in the naira equivalent of Nigeria’s external debt, as national debt is reported in local currency.
> “Following the reforms and the depreciation of the naira, the foreign currency component of our public debt had to be revalued… That accounting adjustment alone added more than ₦40tn to the public debt figure,” Oyedele stated.
He further disclosed that about N33 trillion was added to the debt stock after the National Assembly approved the securitisation of Ways and Means advances from the Central Bank of Nigeria. This, he emphasised, was not fresh borrowing but the conversion of existing advances into long-term bonds.
The clarification comes amid ongoing public debate about Nigeria’s rising debt profile and the economic impact of the government’s reform policies.