Presidential media aide, Dada Olusegun, has blamed soaring Nigeria’s debt profile on collapsing naira value under President Bola Tinubu’s watch. 

Under Mr Tinubu’s watch, Nigeria’s debt profile increased by N24 trillion in three months, hitting a staggering N121 trillion in total, according to the Debt Management Office.

Responding to the report on Nigeria’s debt shooting through the roof in a tweet on Friday, Mr Olusegun made some clarifications, citing “naira depreciation and high exchange rate” among other factors responsible for Nigeria’s rising debt under Mr Tinubu’s watch. 

“The total debt was reduced in dollar terms by $16.77bn or 18.34% as the increase was driven majorly by naira depreciation. The office used an official exchange rate of ₦1,330/$ to convert external debts to naira from ₦899.39 used to convert the debt in December 2023,” Mr Olusegun said. “So, the increase is also attributed to naira depreciation and high exchange rate.”

According to Mr Olusegun, the debt represents external and domestic borrowings by the federal government, the 36 state governments, and the Federal Capital Territory. So, it is wrong to entirely attribute the debt to the FG alone.

He added, “Securitisation of a portion of the ₦7.3tn Ways and Means advances at the Central Bank of Nigeria.”While the naira has been on the decline before Mr Tinubu assumed office in May 2024, it astronomically depreciated in value after the president floated the Nigerian currency.

Since Mr Tinubu floated the naira, it has dipped from about N800 to a dollar to N1,500 to a dollar and almost hit N2,000 to a dollar at a point. However, the government has continually blamed the naira’s collapse on the activities of cryptocurrency giants Binance and Bureau De Change operators, accusing them of aiding currency speculators. 

“Look at what Binance is doing to our economy. That’s why the government moved against Binance,” said Bayo Onanuga, a media aide to the president. “Some people sit down on the cyberspace to determine our exchange rate, hijacking the role of the CBN. They just sit down and fix what they like.”