The Presidency has rejected claims that President Bola Tinubu’s administration accumulated ₦120 trillion in borrowings within three years while simultaneously removing Nigeria’s fuel subsidy.

The clarification followed public discussions comparing the country’s reported debt accumulation under successive administrations, with critics alleging that previous Nigerian leaders collectively borrowed significantly less over several decades.

Responding to the controversy on Sunday, Dada Olusegun, Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, described the figures being circulated as misleading.

He argued that the comparison failed to account for certain financial obligations inherited by the Tinubu administration, particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Ways and Means advances.

According to the presidential aide, approximately ₦22.7 trillion in Central Bank overdrafts had not been reflected in the earlier debt figures being used for comparison until they were formally recognised in May 2023.

The Presidency maintained that excluding such obligations from historical debt calculations created an inaccurate picture of Nigeria’s borrowing history.

The disagreement has renewed public debate over government borrowing, debt transparency and the economic consequences of the Tinubu administration’s reforms.

Source credits: Punch Newspapers, Presidency.