The Federal Government has dismissed claims that the President Bola Tinubu administration has borrowed about N80 trillion since assuming office.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, described the figure as exaggerated, saying it was largely based on accounting adjustments and the naira depreciation rather than fresh borrowing.
Oyedele made the clarification on Monday while briefing the Senate Committee on Finance on the state of the nation’s economy.
Responding to concerns over reports that the administration had borrowed N80 trillion in addition to the N75 trillion debt it inherited, the minister said the figures did not reflect the actual level of new borrowing.
According to him, Nigeria’s public debt stood at about N75 trillion when the Tinubu administration came into office.
He, however, said the depreciation of the naira significantly increased the naira value of the country’s foreign currency-denominated debt.
“When this administration came into office, public debt was around N75 trillion. Many people simply compare that figure with today’s debt stock and conclude that this government has borrowed massively.
“However, following the reforms and the depreciation of the naira, the foreign currency component of our public debt had to be revalued because Nigeria reports its debt in naira.
“That accounting adjustment alone added more than N40 trillion to the public debt figure,” he said.
Oyedele also said the securitisation of the Ways and Means advances approved by the National Assembly added about N33 trillion to the public debt stock.
He explained that the amount did not represent new borrowing but existing obligations that were formally recognised and included in the debt stock.
Meanwhile, members of the Senate Committee on Finance expressed concern over what they described as poor implementation of the capital component of the 2026 budget.
