A presidential aide, Dada Olusegun, has dismissed claims by Peter Obi that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has engaged in excessive borrowing without accountability, accusing the former presidential candidate of spreading misinformation about the country’s debt profile.
Olusegun, who serves as Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, reacted on Tuesday to a statement by Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), in which he criticised the Federal Government’s borrowing record and questioned the management of public debt.
Reacting, Olusegun argued that the increase in Nigeria’s debt stock under the Tinubu administration was largely driven by exchange rate adjustments rather than fresh borrowing.
“Seems Mr. @PeterObi has now abandoned the trouble he’s facing within the NDC and the horrible update from his beloved Indonesia about their dwindling economy to quickly distract us with misinformation again, but we will not watch while this goes uncorrected,” he said.
“For the umpteenth time, Nigeria’s obvious debt portfolio increase over the past three years under the administration of President Tinubu is not a function of new borrowings; rather, vast majority of them are mathematical impacts of currency devaluation which you also promised to implement during your campaigns.”
The presidential aide also stated that the current administration inherited significant liabilities, including Ways and Means advances estimated at about N20 trillion, which he said were subsequently securitised.
“In addition, this administration inherited a whopping Ways and Means debt of around N20 trillion which was securitized to ensure swift repayment by the nation. This makes up a significant portion of the debts Mr Obi is claiming the administration has accumulated within three years,” he said.
Olusegun challenged Obi’s interpretation of debt figures, arguing that exchange rate fluctuations had inflated the naira value of existing obligations.
“If tomorrow, President Tinubu decides to fix the naira against the dollar at N500/$ and the value of our debts in naira drops drastically, will Mr @PeterObi unequivocally agree that the President has repaid all of our debts?” he asked.
According to him, Nigeria’s debt in dollar terms has remained relatively stable.
“Lastly, Nigeria’s debt in dollar value has remained relatively stable ranging from $108bn in 2023 to $109bn in 2026. This tells the true story of the country’s debt levels,” he said.
Olusegun added that Nigeria’s net external reserves had increased significantly under the current administration, rising from about $3 billion in 2023 to approximately $40 billion in 2026.
“We will continue to set the records straight at every given opportunity while allowing Mr President to focus on delivering his mandate to the good people of Nigeria,” he said.
