The Federal Government has dismissed claims that the Tinubu administration borrowed about ₦80 trillion in its first three years, describing the figures as misleading and driven by accounting adjustments rather than fresh loans.

Speaking before the Senate Committee on Finance on Monday, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, said Nigeria’s public debt stood at about ₦75 trillion when the administration took office.

He explained that the depreciation of the naira increased the naira value of the country’s external debt, adding over ₦40 trillion to the debt stock through revaluation rather than new borrowing.

Oyedele also said the ₦33 trillion securitisation of the Federal Government’s Ways and Means advances, approved by the National Assembly, reflected existing obligations and not additional borrowing.

Meanwhile, members of the Senate Committee expressed concern over what they described as the poor implementation of the capital component of the 2026 budget.