– Debt ratio drops below 50%
Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Nigeria’s fiscal outlook is beginning to show signs of sustained recovery, as President Bola Tinubu announced that the nation’s debt service-to-revenue ratio has dropped below 50%, down from a crippling 97% inherited by his administration just over a year ago.
Speaking recently at the 31st Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, President Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said the fiscal turnaround reflected the early impact of his government’s bold reforms, including subsidy removal, foreign exchange unification, and improved tax collection.
“These decisions have rescued our public finances, stabilised the economy, and reassured investors at home and abroad,” he declared.
“We owe this progress to the sacrifices of Nigerians, whose patience and understanding have been the bedrock of our endurance.”
The President noted that Nigeria’s total revenue collection rose from N19.9 trillion in 2023 to N25.2 trillion in 2024, reaching N27.8 trillion by August 2025 — far exceeding earlier projections.
Non-oil revenues, he added, grew by 411% year-on-year, with the nation’s tax-to-GDP ratio climbing to 13.5%, nearly double what it was just a few years ago.
“These triumphs and projections are guided by the promise we have made to grow Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio to a sustainable level,” Tinubu said.
He also revealed that these improvements led global credit agencies like Fitch and Moody’s to upgrade Nigeria’s sovereign ratings, citing “improved economic foresight and clearer policy direction.”
For the administration, this turnaround represents more than numbers, it’s proof that the economy is beginning to find its footing. “The better days we promised are already within sight,” the President assured.
Experts at the summit agreed. The Vice Chairman of NESG, Boye Olusanya, noted that the reforms were “bold, painful, but necessary steps to achieve the trillion-dollar economy by 2030.”
“However,” Olusanya cautioned, “without security and consistency, these gains can easily be reversed.”
