Nigeria’s soaring debt profile sparked a heated exchange on Monday between the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, and the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, as both leaders painted sharply contrasting pictures of the nation’s fiscal health.
Speaking at the 11th Annual Conference and General Assembly of the West Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC) in Abuja, Abbas warned that Nigeria’s public debt had ballooned to ₦149.39 trillion (about $97 billion) in Q1 2025, up from ₦121.7 trillion a year earlier. He said the debt-to-GDP ratio had climbed to 52 percent, breaching the statutory 40 percent threshold.
“Our debt has reached alarming levels. This is a red flag that demands stronger oversight, transparent borrowing, and public accountability,” Abbas, represented by House Leader Prof. Julius Ihonvbhere, declared.
The Speaker cautioned that the current trajectory risks mortgaging the nation’s future, adding that parliaments across West Africa must tighten control over borrowing.
He also condemned reckless loans spent on consumption rather than infrastructure, warning that debt servicing is already crowding out critical investments in health and education.
Abbas broke down Africa’s debt structure, noting that 39 percent is owed to multilateral lenders such as the World Bank and IMF, 35 percent to Western private creditors, 13 percent to bilateral partners, and 12 percent to China. He insisted that Nigerians deserve debt reports that are simplified and accessible, stressing: “Citizens have the right to know, and we have the duty to inform.”
But Finance Minister Edun pushed back, insisting Nigeria was “turning the corner” under President Bola Tinubu’s reforms.
He said revenues rose 34.7 percent in the first half of 2025, while the country’s debt service-to-revenue ratio dropped to about 60 percent in 2024. He pegged Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio at 38.8 percent, which he described as “comfortable by global standards.”
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According to him, tough but necessary policies — including fuel subsidy removal, exchange-rate unification, and sweeping tax reforms — are beginning to yield results.
“Nigeria is no longer on a fiscal cliff,” Edun asserted. “We are laying the foundation for inclusive growth, stability, and private-sector-led prosperity.
Government’s role is to catalyse, not crowd out.”
The minister outlined fiscal priorities such as transparent, project-linked borrowing, domestic revenue mobilisation, and strict adherence to the Fiscal Responsibility Act. He warned, however, that shrinking development aid, tighter global interest rates, and declining world trade mean African countries must become more self-reliant.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, represented by Senator Osita Izunaso, backed calls for stronger oversight, warning that unchecked debt could “jeopardise democracy itself.”
Chairman of the House Public Accounts Committee, Rep. Bamidele Salam, revealed that the committee recovered over ₦200 billion in lost revenues last year, part of efforts to tighten fiscal discipline.
Hosting WAAPAC for the first time since its creation in 2009, Nigeria has placed debt transparency at the centre of regional conversations. Yet Monday’s clash between Abbas and Edun underscores a deeper national divide: is Nigeria truly on a sustainable fiscal path — or racing toward a debt trap?