FG Debunks ₦80tn Borrowing Claims, Says Debt Figures Distorted by Naira Devaluation, Accounting Adjustments …as Senators Fault Slow Implementation of 2026 Capital Budget

The Federal Government has rejected claims that the President Bola Tinubu administration borrowed about ₦80 trillion in its first three years in office, insisting that the widely circulated figure is misleading and does not reflect the actual level of new borrowing.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, made the clarification on Monday while briefing the Senate Committee on Finance during an interactive session on the state of the nation’s economy.

Responding to concerns raised by Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) over reports that the current administration had accumulated about ₦80 trillion in fresh debt in addition to the ₦75 trillion inherited from the previous administration, Edun said the figures were inflated by accounting adjustments rather than new loans.

According to the minister, Nigeria’s public debt stood at about ₦75 trillion when the Tinubu administration assumed office. He explained that the sharp increase in the debt stock was largely due to the depreciation of the naira, which required the country’s foreign-denominated debt to be revalued in local currency.

“The revaluation alone added more than ₦40 trillion to the public debt figure because Nigeria reports its debt in naira,” he said.

Edun also pointed to the securitisation of about ₦33 trillion in Ways and Means advances obtained by the previous administration and later approved by the National Assembly.

He stressed that the exercise merely transferred existing obligations into the official public debt records and did not amount to fresh borrowing.

“These factors have not always been properly explained, which is why the reported public debt appears much larger. The actual amount this administration has borrowed is nowhere near what many people believe,” the minister said.

He further explained that a significant portion of the government’s domestic borrowing had been used to refinance maturing debts, noting that refinancing existing obligations should not be mistaken for new borrowing.

Edun maintained that the Tinubu administration had remained disciplined in its borrowing strategy, insisting that loans were being utilised for infrastructure and other productive investments rather than recurrent expenditure.

“We see debt as leverage. Every naira and every dollar borrowed should generate more value than the amount borrowed,” he told the committee.

The minister’s explanations, however, failed to satisfy some lawmakers.

Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno (Borno North) and Senator Adamu Aliero criticised what they described as the poor implementation of the capital component of the 2026 Appropriation Act, warning that delayed execution was undermining the purpose of the budget.

Monguno reportedly argued that failure to implement the capital budget could amount to a serious constitutional violation.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa (Niger East), sought to allay the lawmakers’ concerns, assuring them that implementation of capital projects would soon improve.

Speaking after a closed-door meeting with the minister and members of the government’s economic team, Musa said discussions centred on strengthening budget implementation through improved revenue management.

He disclosed that the government was considering replacing the current envelope budgeting model with a performance- and priority-based budgeting system, while also reviewing the contractor payment process to accelerate project delivery across the country.