The Presidency has pushed back against Peter Obi’s criticism of the rising public debt under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, describing the spike as largely a result of exchange rate adjustments and accounting rather than reckless new borrowing.
In a statement responding to Obi’s recent remarks, the Presidency argued that much of the increase in the debt stock stems from the devaluation of the naira, which inflated the local currency value of existing external debts, rather than fresh loans on a massive scale.
Peter Obi had criticised the government’s borrowing pattern, warning that the administration’s approach risks pushing Nigeria’s total public debt towards ₦200 trillion and could lead to economic challenges, including high debt servicing costs.
He had earlier expressed concern over projections that Nigeria would spend about $11.6 billion on debt servicing in 2026.
The Presidency maintained that borrowing under the current administration is strategically directed towards infrastructure and productive investments, not recurrent expenditure.
Officials insist that contextualising the debt figures especially the impact of currency unification shows the increase is more mathematical than indicative of unsustainable new borrowing.
BackgroundNigeria’s public debt has risen significantly since May 2023. Figures from the Debt Management Office show the debt stock moving from around ₦87–97 trillion at the start of the Tinubu administration to over ₦159 trillion by the end of 2025, with further increases expected.
The debate comes as the government continues to secure loans for various projects while emphasising fiscal reforms aimed at boosting revenue and reducing reliance on borrowing in the long term.
Obi has repeatedly called for greater prudence and accountability in the use of borrowed funds.
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