Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri has said Nigeria’s total public debt rose to about $113 billion before President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023.

However, fact check on the claim confirmed that the claim was either deliberate falsehood or a mistake.

Omokri made the claim while responding to a report by Daily Trust which put the country’s debt profile at $108.29 billion at the time of the administration’s transition from former president Muhammadu Buhari.

According to him, the figure cited in the report reflects Nigeria’s total public debt as of March 31, 2023, based on data released by the Debt Management Office, and does not capture the full debt level inherited by the current administration.

He argued that the March data predates the handover by nearly two months and excludes additional borrowings recorded in the second quarter of 2023 under the previous government.

Omokri further stated that the figures referenced in the report did not include “ways and means” obligations, which he said became more evident after the transition of power.

Citing a report by Dubawa, he maintained that Nigeria’s debt rose to about ₦87 trillion, equivalent to $113 billion, by June 2023, marking the early period of the Tinubu administration.

The breakdown, according to the cited report, shows total external debt at about ₦33 trillion, with the Federal Government accounting for ₦29 trillion, while states and the Federal Capital Territory accounted for approximately ₦3 trillion.

Omokri called on the newspaper to reassess its figures and withdraw what he described as a misleading headline, insisting that the debt profile at the point of transition should reflect obligations accumulated up to the end of the second quarter of 2023.

The differing figures highlight ongoing debates over Nigeria’s debt position during the transition between the Buhari and Tinubu administrations.