The Federal Government exceeded its 2024 borrowing target by ₦4.79 trillion, raising ₦12.62 trillion in fresh debt against the budgeted ₦7.83 trillion, according to the ‘Budget Office’s Fourth Quarter and Consolidated Budget Implementation Report’.
The report attributed the increased borrowing to a revenue shortfall that widened the fiscal deficit to ₦13.51 trillion, far above the approved ₦9.18 trillion. Government revenue stood at ₦20.98 trillion, missing the ₦25.88 trillion target by ₦4.90 trillion, while expenditure remained largely on track at ₦34.49 trillion, just ₦561.29 billion below budget.
Domestic borrowing met its target at ₦6.06 trillion, but foreign borrowing rose to ₦3.37 trillion, exceeding projections by ₦1.60 trillion. In addition, the Government received ₦3.19 trillion in undisclosed budget support that had not been included in the 2024 budget, pushing total new borrowing to ₦12.62 trillion—about 36% of total expenditure. Oil revenue underperformed, with gross earnings of ₦15.07 trillion, falling ₦4.93 trillion below target due to lower crude prices and production. However, non-oil revenue outperformed expectations, reaching ₦16.09 trillion, driven by stronger collections from Company Income Tax, VAT, Customs duties and the Electronic Money Transfer Levy.
The report also showed Nigeria’s total public debt rose to ₦144.67 trillion by the end of 2024, with the debt-to-GDP ratio climbing to 61.22%, exceeding both Nigeria’s 40% benchmark and the 56% threshold for comparable economies.
Economists Aliyu Ilias and Muda Yusuf warned that the rising debt profile could worsen inflation and debt-servicing pressures, urging the government to strengthen revenue generation, improve fiscal discipline and ensure borrowed funds are invested in productive sectors.
The report said on-going tax reforms, improved non-oil revenue mobilisation, tighter fiscal incentives and efforts to block revenue leakages are expected to reduce reliance on borrowing over the medium term.
Meanwhile, the Presidency has defended the government’s borrowing strategy, insisting the loans are funding critical infrastructure, while Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele argues that borrowing should be judged by its purpose, cost and economic returns rather than its size alone.
