Taiwo Oyedele says over ₦40 trillion increase in Nigeria’s debt profile came from exchange rate adjustments, not fresh borrowing.
The Federal Government has dismissed reports that President Bola Tinubu’s administration borrowed about ₦80 trillion within three years, insisting that the figures being circulated are misleading and largely driven by accounting adjustments.
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.
Oyedele explained that Nigeria’s public debt stood at approximately ₦75 trillion when the Tinubu administration took office, but the depreciation of the naira significantly increased the local currency value of the country’s external debt.
“Many people compare the debt stock inherited by this administration with the current figure and conclude that the government has borrowed massively. That is not correct,” he said.
According to the minister, the revaluation of foreign-denominated debt following exchange rate reforms added more than ₦40 trillion to Nigeria’s debt profile without any new borrowing.
He further disclosed that the securitisation of Ways and Means advances approved by the National Assembly contributed an additional ₦33 trillion to the public debt stock, noting that the amount represented existing obligations rather than fresh loans.
The clarification comes amid growing public debate over Nigeria’s rising debt profile and concerns about the sustainability of government borrowing.
However, members of the Senate Committee on Finance expressed dissatisfaction over the implementation of the capital component of the 2026 budget, calling for improved execution of critical development projects.
The Finance Minister maintained that despite the increase in the naira value of public debt, President Tinubu administration remains committed to fiscal discipline and economic reforms aimed at stabilising the economy.