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The Federal Government has dismissed reports that the Tinubu administration has borrowed ₦80 trillion, insisting that Nigeria’s debt figures have been misrepresented.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, told the Senate Committee on Finance that much of the increase in debt stock was due to accounting adjustments rather than fresh loans.
“When this administration came into office, public debt was around ₦75 trillion. Following reforms and the depreciation of the naira, the foreign currency component had to be revalued. That adjustment alone added more than ₦40 trillion,” Oyedele explained.
He added that the ₦33 trillion securitisation of Ways and Means advances inherited from the previous government also contributed to the debt figure.
“It was not new borrowing; it was simply bringing existing obligations onto the official debt books,” he said.
Oyedele stressed that actual borrowing under Tinubu has been far lower than perceived, with most domestic debt raised for refinancing maturing obligations, not new spending.
He assured lawmakers that borrowing has been cautious and targeted, focused on infrastructure and productive sectors rather than recurrent expenditure.
“We see debt as leverage. Every naira and dollar borrowed should generate more value than the amount borrowed,” he noted.
Some senators, however, expressed concern about delays in implementing the capital component of the 2026 budget, warning that it could undermine performance.
Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno described the non-implementation as a constitutional issue.
Committee Chairman Sani Musa defended the economic team, saying a priority-based budgeting system was being considered to replace the envelope
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