President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Government reportedly received an additional N3.8 trillion through Ways and Means Borrowing from the Central Bank of Nigeria in the last half of 2023.
The data, released in the latest Statistics bulletin for the fourth quarter of 2023 by the central bank, reveals this significant influx of funds.
The provisional data indicates a surge from N4.4 trillion at the end of June 2023, resulting in a cumulative Ways and Means balance owed by the government now standing at N8.2 trillion as of December 2023.
These figures starkly contrast with statements made by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, who claimed that Tinubu’s government had not borrowed from the CBN.
Edun’s remarks were made during discussions with journalists at the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington DC, United States.
It’s worth noting that when the Tinubu administration assumed office in May 2023, the Total Ways and Means balance was recorded at N26.95 trillion.
However, these balances were eventually securitized as part of the federal government’s domestic debt profile. Further analysis of the data reveals a steady increase in balances from July 2023 onwards.
By December 2023, the total had soared to N8.21 trillion, marking an 88 per cent surge in just six months.