In the last six months of 2023, the Government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Nigeria obtained an additional N3.8 trillion through Ways and Means Borrowing from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
A recent Statistics bulletin released by the central bank revealed this provisional data, contradicting claims made by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, who stated that Tinubu’s government had not borrowed from the CBN.
At the close of June 2023, the total figure stood at N4.4 trillion, marking an increase from the prior period. This brings the cumulative Ways and Means balances owed by the government to N8.2 trillion as of December 2023.
Before the start of the Tinubu administration in May 2023, the Total Ways and Means balance was recorded at N26.95 trillion. These balances have been securitized as part of the federal government’s domestic debt profile.
Analysis of the data reveals that the balances at the end of June 2023 were N4.36 trillion, with a probability that the previous month’s balances had been transferred to the Debt Management Office, holding the country’s debt records.
Starting from July 2023, the balances consistently increased, reaching N4.5 trillion in July, N5.1 trillion in August, surpassing the N5.1 trillion mark for the first time.
By September, the total had climbed to N6.4 trillion, the highest monthly borrowing increase at about N1.3 trillion. It further rose to N7.2 trillion in October before a slight increase to N7.6 trillion in November.
Ending the year in December, the total reached N8.21 trillion, indicating an 88% rise in Ways and Means borrowing in just six months.