Federal Government Denies Borrowing N80tn Under Tinubu, Blames Naira Devaluation for Debt Rise

The Federal Government has dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu’s administration borrowed about N80 trillion in the last three years, describing the figure as misleading and largely the result of accounting adjustments rather than fresh loans.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, made the clarification on Monday while briefing the Senate Committee on Finance on the state of the economy. Lawmakers had raised concerns over reports that the current administration had accumulated close to N80 trillion in new debt, in addition to the N75 trillion it inherited from the previous administration.

Oyedele told the committee that Nigeria’s public debt stood at about N75 trillion when the administration took office and has since risen to roughly N159 trillion. He said the increase does not reflect new borrowing on that scale, and that people who simply compare the two figures without accounting for other factors arrive at an inaccurate conclusion.

According to him, more than N40 trillion of the increase came from the revaluation of Nigeria’s foreign currency-denominated debt following the depreciation of the naira, which raised the naira value of existing obligations without any new loan being taken. He said about N33 trillion was added after the National Assembly approved the conversion of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Ways and Means advances, which were borrowed under the previous administration, into formal public debt. He described this as the formal recognition of an existing obligation rather than new borrowing.

The minister also cautioned against treating every borrowing limit approved by the National Assembly as money already spent, explaining that approved ceilings are often reported as if fully drawn down, when actual disbursement happens gradually over time. He cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as an example of borrowing meant to widen access to education while easing the financial burden on families.

Oyedele said the government still needs to borrow because expenditure continues to exceed revenue, even though revenue collection has improved. He pointed to rising debt-servicing costs, the new national minimum wage, salary increases and social intervention programmes as factors pushing up government spending.

During the session, Senator Adamu Aliero raised concerns about the country’s rising debt profile, noting that the previous administration led by former President Muhammadu Buhari left office with about N75 trillion in debt. He said public estimates suggesting the current administration had borrowed between N75 trillion and N80 trillion needed clearer explanation.

Senator Tahir Monguno questioned the slow implementation of the budget despite improved revenue performance by government agencies, saying delayed capital releases were affecting infrastructure and security funding. He also raised concerns over the distribution of Federation Account Allocation Committee funds, and said failure to implement an Appropriation Act as passed amounted to a breach of the law.

Responding, Oyedele said Federation Account Allocation Committee distributions are carried out strictly in line with constitutional and statutory provisions, and pledged continued transparency in debt management and public spending.

The minister maintained that loans obtained under the current administration are directed at critical infrastructure and other productive investments rather than recurrent spending, and said the government remains committed to debt sustainability.