Public debt sustainability and fiscal responsibility in Nigeria, By ‘Tope Fasua

The topic was two-pronged, and basically asked two huge questions; is Nigeria’s debt sustainable? (What are the factors that make a national debt sustainable?), and is Nigeria – or the present administration – fiscally responsible? (What is meant by fiscal responsibility?). Many Nigerians have been agitating about Nigeria’s debts lately, and majority of Nigerians believe (erroneously I would wager), that the current government is borrowing too much therefore our debts are no longer sustainable. Some members of political opposition recently went to town about Nigeria’s debt, accusing President Tinubu of borrowing some humongous amounts of money. Ambassador Reno Omokri has done justice to that subject. Our current debts are at where they are because the N30 trillion hanging in Ways and Means from the previous administration has been added on, while the dollar value of our debts dipped initially. The rise in the naira value of Nigeria’s debts – which some politicians are trying to spin to incense the public – is simply a fallout from the depreciation of the Naira. The Naira itself – after hitting a low of N1800 sometimes in 2024 – has been steadily strengthening (now circa N1370 to the US dollar).