Tinubu Has Not Borrowed ₦80tn, Finance Minister Tells Senate as Lawmakers Push for Budget Reforms

Oyedele attributes rising debt profile to naira depreciation, inherited liabilities; Senate faults poor budget implementation, seeks fiscal overhaul

By Pan Afric Reporters

The Federal Government has dismissed claims that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has borrowed between ₦75 trillion and ₦80 trillion, with the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, explaining that the sharp increase in Nigeria’s public debt profile is largely the result of naira depreciation, inherited obligations and accounting adjustments rather than fresh borrowing.

Oyedele made the clarification during an economic review session organised by the Senate Committee on Finance, where lawmakers also expressed concern over poor budget implementation despite improved government revenue and called for a comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s budgeting framework.

Addressing senators, the minister said public discourse on the country’s debt profile has been driven by misconceptions arising from simple comparisons between the debt stock inherited by the Tinubu administration and the current figures without considering the factors responsible for the increase.

“When this administration came into office, public debt was around ₦75 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,” Oyedele said.

According to him, over ₦40 trillion was added to Nigeria’s debt profile following the depreciation of the naira, which led to the revaluation of the country’s foreign currency-denominated obligations.

He explained that because a significant portion of Nigeria’s debt is denominated in foreign currencies, exchange rate adjustments naturally increased the naira value of the outstanding obligations without any new borrowing.

The minister also identified the securitisation of the Ways and Means advances obtained by the previous administration from the Central Bank of Nigeria as another major contributor to the country’s debt profile.

He noted that approximately ₦33 trillion was added after the National Assembly approved the conversion of those obligations into formal public debt.

Oyedele further cautioned against interpreting every borrowing approval granted by the National Assembly as money already accessed by the government.

According to him, approvals merely provide borrowing limits, while actual disbursements are made over time and reported separately.

He also highlighted the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as one of the government’s strategic interventions aimed at expanding access to higher education while easing the financial burden on Nigerian families.

Earlier, Senator Tahir Monguno questioned why improved revenue generation had not translated into effective implementation of government budgets and accelerated delivery of capital projects.

He lamented that despite increased revenues, the 2025 Appropriation Act was not fully implemented, with a substantial portion of capital expenditure rolled over into the 2026 fiscal year.

According to the senator, failure to implement an Appropriation Act amounts to a violation of the law.

He also demanded explanations over the distribution of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenues, questioning why about ₦1.7 trillion was reportedly retained after approximately ₦3.7 trillion accrued to the Federation Account.

Similarly, Senator Adamu Aliero argued that while the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari borrowed about ₦75 trillion, the Tinubu administration had also reportedly accumulated between ₦75 trillion and ₦80 trillion, insisting that budget implementation remained below expectations.

Responding, Oyedele said he was not familiar with the specific figures cited but maintained that no FAAC allocation under the current administration had fallen below ₦2 trillion.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, stressed that the success of the Federal Government’s economic reforms would ultimately be measured by their impact on the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians.

He acknowledged that introducing a new budgeting system would require time but argued that investing one or two years in establishing a more efficient fiscal framework would yield long-term benefits.

Musa also called for stronger coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities, noting that both policy directions must complement each other to guarantee macroeconomic stability and sustainable growth.

On delays associated with government payments, the committee chairman disclosed that the National Assembly was considering reintroducing aspects of the previous payment system by decentralising certain processes while maintaining oversight by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

According to him, the proposed adjustments are expected to reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks, speed up payments and improve overall efficiency in public financial management.

He further clarified that concerns over requests for payment batch numbers stemmed largely from misunderstandings, insisting that while the payment platform remains functional, there is room for operational improvements.