Presidency Counters Obi’s Claims On Nigeria’s Rising Debt

The Presidency has dismissed claims by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu accumulated over N100 trillion in debt within three years.

Responding on Tuesday, the President’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, said the rise in Nigeria’s debt profile was largely driven by the devaluation of the naira rather than fresh borrowing.

According to him, much of the increase reflected the higher naira valuation of existing external debts following exchange rate adjustments, a policy he noted Obi had also supported during his campaign.

Olusegun stated that the Tinubu administration inherited about N20 trillion in Ways and Means debt, which was later securitised to facilitate repayment, arguing that this contributed significantly to the debt figures being cited.

He also stressed that Nigeria’s total public debt includes obligations accumulated by state governments over time and should not be attributed solely to federal borrowing.

Questioning Obi’s assessment, the presidential aide argued that exchange rate movements have a major impact on the naira value of external debt.

“If the naira were fixed at N500 to the dollar and the naira value of our debt dropped sharply, would Obi then say the debts had been repaid?” he asked.

Olusegun maintained that Nigeria’s debt stock in dollar terms had remained relatively stable, rising only marginally from about $108 billion in 2023 to $109 billion in 2026.

He further pointed to an increase in the country’s external reserves, which he said grew from about $3 billion in 2023 to approximately $40 billion in 2026.

The response followed Obi’s criticism of the administration’s fiscal management, in which he claimed Nigeria’s public debt had surged to about N200 trillion due to excessive borrowing and weak accountability.