IN just 28 months, President Bola Tinubu has borrowed at least N18.24 trillion more than his predecessor, Mr Muhammadu Buhari, now late, did in his entire 8 years in office, Economy Post‘s tracker has found.
In his entire 8 years in Aso Rock, Mr Buhari borrowed N75.26 trillion from various sources, including from China, but President Tinubu’s administration has eclipsed that figure in just 28 months, borrowing N98.65 trillion, mainly from international sources. With the recently repaid $3.4 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan, Tinubu’s total net loans currently stand at N93.5 trillion.
Source: DMO, World Bank, Economy Post
President Tinubu had borrowed N96 trillion in his 2 years in office, as reported by Economy Post, but is now requesting fresh $1.75 billion from the World Bank, which is equivalent to N2.65 trillion. If the World Bank grants the loan to Nigeria, President Tinubu’s loan in 28 months of his administration will rise to N93.5 trillion.
Source: DMO, World Bank, Economy Post
Incidentally, this makes him the president with the highest debt profile in Nigeria’s history. In fact, the loans taken by the current administration is the highest of any single government in the nation’s history.
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The Punch reported on Thursday that the World Bank could approve loans totalling $1.75 billion before the end of the year to support Nigeria’s agriculture value chain, digital infrastructure, health security and small businesses.
“When you hear from President Tinubu that he has met his revenue target without borrowing one kobo from local banks, he means that he prefers borrowing from international institutions. The question is this, why are you borrowing heavily externally when you have met your revenue target?” asked a United Kingdom-based finance lecturer, Dr Matthew Onyemaechi.
Tinubu’s expensive loans
President Tinubu’s administration is raising the nation’s debt profile as most of his loans are external in nature. Apart from the proposed $1.75 billion from the World Bank, Mr Tinubu had, in October 2024, borrowed a total sum of $6.45 billion from the same institution, according to a document seen on the global lender’s website.
Daily Trust reported that President Tinubu borrowed over N13.21 trillion ($8billion) from the World Bank for different developmental projects in 20 months.
This is in addition to $500 million borrowed from the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and another $500 million loan from the African Development Bank Group. Mr Tinubu had also borrowed from international investors through Eurobonds. President Tinubu’s administration issued a $1.7 billion Eurobond on December 3, 2024, which was oversubscribed 5.4 times. It also issued another $500 million Eurobond in 2024.
Borrowing more in foreign currency is one reason why President Tinunu’s debt is rising faster than that of his predecessor in naira terms. The naira has devalued by over 50 percent since Mr Buhari left office.
As at the time President Buhari was leaving office on May 29, 2023, the exchange rate was less than N800/$. Data from FMDQ Securities Exchange show that the naira exchanged at 775 to a dollar on May 26, 2023. Mr Tinubu came to power on May 29, 2023. Hence some of former President Buhari’s external loans were taken when a dollar exchanged at less than N800.
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However, President Tinubu, now in power, takes some of his loans at a point when the exchange rate is at over N1,500 to a dollar. The exchange rate is currently at over N1,500/$ today.
But the Tinubu’s administration recently repaid Nigeria’s $3.4 billion borrowed from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) . The actual name of the facility is the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), which was given to Nigeria in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 on oil prices. The cost of the loan was 1 percent. This is a major win for the administration,, say economists.
Revenue rising
It is not all doom and gloom as the nation’s revenue is seeing some level of appreciation under the Tinubu’s government. The non-oil sector pushed the nation’s tax revenue to N17.4 trillion in the first seven months of 2025.
Non-oil tax revenue was estimated at N13.07 trillion, representing 75 percent of the total revenue reported within the period. Hence, Nigeria collected more taxes in the 7 months of 2025 than it did in 2022 and 2021 combined – when tax earnings stood at N16.5 trillion.
“Now is the time to reduce external borrowing and pay more attention to exceeding our revenue targets,” said a Lagos-based economist, Mr Michael Ajibola-Whyte.
“Borrowing isn’t bad, but a responsible man will always ensure that his income exceeds his debt. This is exactly what we need,” he noted.
