The Presidency has dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu borrowed ₦120 trillion within three years of assuming office, describing the figures as misleading and a distortion of Nigeria’s public debt records.
Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, said the comparison between borrowing under previous administrations and the Tinubu government failed to account for outstanding Central Bank overdrafts and changes in the exchange rate.
Olusegun made the clarification in a statement posted on X on Sunday, accusing opposition groups of using misleading figures to portray the administration as excessively dependent on borrowing despite removing the petrol subsidy.
He disputed claims that 16 Nigerian leaders borrowed a combined ₦46 trillion over 63 years, while Tinubu accumulated ₦120 trillion in just three years.
According to him, the ₦46 trillion figure recorded at the end of 2022 excluded ₦22.7 trillion in Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Ways and Means advances, which were formally recognised in the public debt records in May 2023.
“But in reality, the ₦46 trillion figure from late 2022 hid ₦22.7 trillion in Central Bank ‘Ways and Means’ overdrafts that weren’t officially put on the books until May 2023,” he stated.
He also argued that previous debt calculations used an exchange rate of ₦448 to the dollar when converting foreign-denominated obligations, despite the parallel market rate exceeding ₦700 at the time.
Olusegun said the unification of the exchange rate in June 2023 increased the naira value of Nigeria’s existing foreign debt without the government contracting additional dollar-denominated loans.
“When the exchange rate was unified in June 2023, the exact same dollar debt instantly looked ₦13.4 trillion larger on paper overnight without a single new dollar being borrowed,” he added.
He maintained that Nigeria’s public debt increased from $113.4 billion in June 2023 to $120.9 billion in June 2026, representing an increase of $7.5 billion in dollar terms.
The presidential aide also defended the removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that the policy had increased monthly allocations from the Federation Account to states and local governments.
He said monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) distributions rose from ₦656 billion in April 2023 to ₦2.4 trillion by September 2026.
The controversy followed the circulation of a social media graphic comparing cumulative borrowing under previous Nigerian administrations with the Tinubu government’s debt profile.
The graphic suggested that previous administrations borrowed ₦46 trillion over 63 years, while the current administration accumulated ₦120 trillion within three years. However, the comparison did not adequately account for exchange-rate changes and previously unrecognised financial obligations.
Figures from the Debt Management Office showed that Nigeria’s public debt stood at approximately ₦87.38 trillion, equivalent to $113.4 billion, in June 2023.
By June 2026, the debt had increased to approximately ₦166.79 trillion, or $120.93 billion. The naira increase reflected, among other factors, the exchange-rate adjustment and the recognition of inherited Ways and Means advances.
The Presidency’s defence comes amid fresh borrowing plans by the Federal Government, following Tinubu’s request for Senate approval of a $7.7 billion external borrowing plan to part-finance the 2026 budget deficit.
The request, equivalent to approximately ₦10.79 trillion at the budget exchange rate of ₦1,400 to the dollar, was conveyed in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during Wednesday’s plenary.
The proposed borrowing replaced an earlier request for approval to secure $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion in external loans, which the President had submitted to both chambers of the National Assembly a week earlier.
Opposition parties, including the Nigeria Democratic Congress, have criticised the latest borrowing request, raising concerns about the country’s growing debt obligations and the financial burden on future generations.
