CENTER FOR FISCAL TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC INTEGRITY (CEFTPI) CALLS FOR URGENT PUBLIC DEBT INTEGRITY MECHANISM
ABUJA, FCT – September 8, 2025 – The Center for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI) today expressed grave concern over the alarming trajectory of Nigeria’s public debt. The Center urges the Federal Government and National Assembly to act decisively by establishing a robust Public Debt Integrity Mechanism to prevent a looming fiscal crisis.
The current fiscal path is a perilous reversal of the progress achieved in the mid-2000s. Under the leadership of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria secured a landmark debt relief deal that reduced the nation’s external debt from over $35 billion to a manageable $2.11 billion by 2007. This historic achievement offered a fresh start for sustainable economic growth and development. Tragically, this opportunity has been squandered. Subsequent administrations have engaged in a relentless borrowing spree, swelling our national debt to an unsustainable N150 trillion. This exponential rise is a clear symptom of a broader issue: the lack of transparency, accountability, and strategic oversight in our public borrowing practices. The National Assembly, in its role as the primary legislative check on the executive, has consistently failed in its constitutional duty to curb these excesses, effectively rubber-stamping requests without sufficient scrutiny or regard for the nation’s long-term financial health.
To address this crisis, CeFTPI calls for the immediate adoption of a Public Debt Integrity Mechanism grounded in global best practices. This mechanism must be built on the following pillars:
- Transparency: All current and future borrowing details, including terms, purpose, and repayment schedules, must be made public and easily accessible. We demand that all loans taken since 1999 be publicly disclosed, with a detailed breakdown of their utilization and repayment status.
- Accountability: A strong legal framework must be established to hold officials accountable for the prudent and effective use of borrowed funds. We call for an immediate and thorough investigation into the utilization of all past loans to ensure accountability. Furthermore, any violation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act must be sanctioned with the full weight of the law, setting a clear precedent that fiscal misconduct will not be tolerated.
- Strategic Planning: New loans should be tied to a clear, verifiable, and medium-to-long-term national development strategy, with a focus on projects with high economic returns.
The Center for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity implores the National Assembly to utilize its oversight powers to scrutinize all new loan requests and push for legislative reforms that will enshrine fiscal discipline. We particularly urge the National Assembly to embrace global benchmarking tools, such as the Public Debt Management Assessment Toolkit (PDMAT), to systematically evaluate and strengthen its oversight capacity. This would enable lawmakers to assess key indicators on debt transparency, legal frameworks, and fiscal risk management, thereby fulfilling their role in a broader accountability ecosystem.
About the Center for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI)
The Center for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity is a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting transparency, accountability, and integrity in public finance management. Through research, advocacy, and citizen engagement, CeFTPI works to ensure that public resources are used for the benefit of all Nigerians.
Signed
Umar Yakubu, Ph.D.
Executive Director