The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, has defended the Federal Government’s continued reliance on borrowing, describing it as a strategic component of Nigeria’s economic framework rather than a weakness.
Speaking at the State House on Tuesday during the Meet-the-Press session organised by the Presidential Communications Team, Adedeji disclosed that federal revenue collection rose sharply to ₦3.64 trillion in September 2025, representing a 411 per cent increase from ₦711 billion recorded in May 2023.
“Borrowing is not a problem,” he said. “Every budget consists of expenditure, revenue, and loans. If the National Assembly has approved borrowing within the budget, then it remains part of our fiscal strategy. No country or individual survives entirely on revenue alone.”
His remarks come in the wake of renewed public criticism over Nigeria’s debt profile, following President Bola Tinubu’s July request for a $21.5 billion external loan, which included a $2 billion foreign currency bond and a ₦757.98 billion domestic bond to offset pension liabilities. The request was made just weeks before the President declared that Nigeria had met its 2025 revenue target ahead of schedule and would reduce its dependence on borrowing.
Adedeji, however, argued that borrowing allows governments to finance long-term infrastructure projects without placing the entire burden on present taxpayers. He cited what he called the “Matchy Concept” of financing, under which projects with benefits that extend to future generations, such as roads and critical infrastructure, should be financed partly through borrowing, so that future users also contribute via taxes.
