Oyedele Dismisses Claims of Tinubu’s Administration Borrowing N80tn as Senate Queries Nigeria’s Debt Profile
By Raphael Ekpang
Abuja (Core Reporters) – Nigeria’s Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu’s administration borrowed N80 trillion, insisting that most of the increase in the country’s debt stock resulted from naira depreciation, inherited liabilities, and accounting adjustments rather than fresh loans.
Meanwhile, the Senate subjected the Federal Government’s fiscal management to intense scrutiny, raising concerns over Nigeria’s rising debt profile, poor budget implementation, and delayed capital projects.
Oyedele said the figures being compared in the public space do not present the complete picture of how Nigeria’s debt position evolved.
“When this administration came into office, public debt was around N75 trillion. Many people simply compare the number before and the number now and conclude that this government has borrowed so much. That is not correct,” he said.
According to him, the increase in the debt stock cannot be attributed solely to new borrowing by the current administration.
He explained that more than N40 trillion was added to Nigeria’s debt figure following the depreciation of the naira and the consequent revaluation of the country’s foreign currency-denominated obligations.
Oyedele noted that the foreign exchange component of Nigeria’s debt had to be adjusted following the currency reforms, resulting in a substantial increase in the reported debt figure. He also pointed to the securitisation of the Ways and Means advances obtained by the previous administration from the Central Bank of Nigeria as another major factor responsible for the increase in Nigeria’s official debt stock.
According to him, about N33 trillion was added after the National Assembly approved the conversion of those obligations into formal debt.
He, however, challenged the assumption that all borrowing approvals granted by the National Assembly represented money already borrowed by the government.
He said confusion often arises because approved borrowing figures are reported as though they have already been drawn down, whereas actual withdrawals are reported separately at a later stage.
Oyedele cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which he said was designed to expand access to education while reducing the financial burden on families.
Earlier during the session, Tahir Monguno raised concerns over the slow pace of budget implementation despite improved revenue performance by government agencies.
Monguno said that if revenue-generating agencies could exceed their targets, there should be a corresponding improvement in budget implementation and the execution of capital projects.
He said the 2025 budget was not fully implemented, with a significant portion of capital expenditure rolled over into 2026.
The lawmaker said that failure to implement an Appropriation Act amounts to a breach of the law, describing such a breach as “an impeachable offence.”
Monguno also questioned the distribution of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenues, asking why about N1.7 trillion was reportedly retained after approximately N3.7 trillion accrued to the Federation Account.
Also, Adamu Aliero claimed that former President Muhammadu Buhari borrowed N75 trillion, while President Tinubu has borrowed between N75 trillion and N80 trillion, adding that budget implementation was nowhere near expectations.
Responding, Oyedele said he was not familiar with the specific figures but maintained that no FAAC allocation under the current administration had fallen below N2 trillion.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mohammed Sani Musa, said the ultimate measure of the government’s economic reforms would be whether they improve the welfare of Nigerians.
Musa acknowledged that introducing a new budgeting framework would take time but said spending one or two years to establish an effective system would be worthwhile.
He, however, called for greater coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities, noting that both policies must work together to achieve economic stability.
Speaking on delays associated with government payments and documentation, Musa said the National Assembly was considering a return to aspects of the previous payment system by decentralising some processes while retaining oversight mechanisms under the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He said the move would help speed up payments and improve efficiency.
The committee chairman clarified that complaints about requests for payment batch numbers stemmed from a misunderstanding, insisting that the payment system was functioning but required further improvements.
