The Senate on Monday took the Federal Government to task over the slow implementation of the 2026 Appropriation Act, with lawmakers expressing anger over the apparent non-release of funds for capital projects, while the government defended its borrowing record, insisting that Nigeria’s current debt profile has been grossly exaggerated.
The heated exchange occurred during an interactive session between the Senate Committee on Finance and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, who appeared before the panel to brief lawmakers on the state of the nation’s economy.
Leading the criticism was the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), who accused the executive of failing to implement the capital component of the 2026 budget approved by the National Assembly.
Monguno warned that the refusal by the executive to execute an appropriation law duly passed by the legislature amounted to a constitutional violation, describing such an action as an impeachable offence.
He was supported by Senator Adamu Aliero, who also questioned the delay in releasing funds for critical projects captured in the budget, saying Nigerians were yet to feel the impact of the 2026 fiscal plan.
As tensions rose during the session, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), intervened to calm tempers, assuring his colleagues that implementation of the capital projects would soon commence across the country.
Musa urged lawmakers to exercise patience, expressing confidence that Nigerians would begin to witness the execution of projects approved in the budget in the coming weeks.
Responding to another major concern, Oyedele dismissed claims that the Tinubu administration had borrowed about ₦80 trillion in addition to the approximately ₦75 trillion debt inherited from the previous administration.
The minister argued that such figures were misleading because they failed to distinguish between fresh borrowing and accounting adjustments resulting from economic reforms.
According to him, when President Bola Tinubu assumed office, Nigeria’s public debt stood at about ₦75 trillion.
He explained that the sharp depreciation of the naira following the administration’s foreign exchange reforms significantly increased the naira value of Nigeria’s external debt, automatically adding more than ₦40 trillion to the country’s debt stock without the government borrowing a single additional dollar.
Oyedele further stated that another major increase arose from the securitisation of about ₦33 trillion in Ways and Means advances obtained by the previous administration from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He noted that the National Assembly approved the conversion of those advances into formal public debt, stressing that the exercise merely transferred existing liabilities onto the government’s official books rather than creating fresh debt.
“The actual amount this administration has borrowed is nowhere near what many people believe,” the minister said.
He added that much of the government’s domestic borrowing has also been for refinancing existing obligations rather than accumulating new debt.
According to him, when previously issued debt instruments mature, the government raises new debt to repay them, a practice that should not be interpreted as fresh borrowing.
Oyedele maintained that the Tinubu administration has adopted a disciplined borrowing strategy focused primarily on infrastructure development and other productive investments capable of generating long-term economic returns.
“This administration has been very responsible in its borrowing. We understand the concerns of Nigerians and of the distinguished senators, but we remain fully committed to debt sustainability,” he said.
“We see debt as leverage. Every naira and every dollar borrowed should generate more value than the amount borrowed.”
Following a closed-door session with the minister and members of the government’s economic management team, Senator Musa disclosed that lawmakers and the executive had agreed on measures to strengthen budget implementation.
He said discussions centred on aligning expenditure more closely with available revenue and introducing a performance- and priority-based budgeting system to replace the existing envelope budgeting model.
Musa also revealed that the government is considering a return to the previous payment system for contractors as part of efforts to improve project execution and accelerate delivery of capital projects across the country.
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