A financial expert and economist, Ernest Abegbe, has urged the Federal Government to undertake a comprehensive forensic audit of Nigeria’s domestic and external debt portfolio, noting that rising debt-servicing obligations are squeezing resources needed to finance critical infrastructure and stimulate economic growth.
Abegbe said an independent review of the country’s debt obligations could uncover questionable or improperly documented liabilities, identify debts eligible for cancellation and provide a basis for negotiating interest and penalty waivers, restructuring and other forms of relief with creditors.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja , he argued that Nigeria must move beyond publishing aggregate debt figures and debt-to-GDP ratios to establishing the legitimacy, utilisation and economic value of every borrowing transaction undertaken by successive administrations.
He said the proposed audit should cover the origin, authorisation, purpose, disbursement, utilisation, beneficiaries, repayment history, legal status and verifiable outstanding balances of every public debt obligation.
According to him, a credible reconciliation and validation exercise would strengthen Nigeria’s negotiating position with creditors and help the government distinguish legitimate obligations from those that may be challenged or renegotiated.
“Debt management must go beyond reporting how much the country owes and how much it spends on servicing those obligations. There is a need to establish the authenticity, history and economic value of every debt transaction,” he argued.
The economist cited the debt relief secured by Nigeria under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration in 2005 and 2006 as evidence that strategic creditor engagement could deliver significant fiscal relief.
Abegbe maintained that the country’s growing debt-servicing burden has become a major constraint on economic development, limiting the government’s ability to fund infrastructure, implement poverty-reduction programmes and sustain critical economic reforms.
The pressure, he said, has continued to divert public resources away from productive investments, leaving less fiscal room for sectors that could expand economic output, create jobs and improve living standards.
Abegbe therefore called for debt reconciliation, validation and strategic relief to become central components of Nigeria’s broader fiscal and economic reform agenda rather than being treated merely as routine accounting or debt-management exercises.
He said the outcome of the proposed forensic review should form the basis for structured negotiations with creditors to secure sustainable repayment terms, cancellation of eligible obligations and waivers on accumulated interest and penalties where justified.
However, he stressed that any fiscal savings arising from debt relief must be transparently accounted for and channelled into productive sectors rather than absorbed by recurrent government expenditure.
He identified infrastructure, power, healthcare, education, agriculture, industrial development, job creation and support for small businesses as priority areas that should benefit from additional fiscal resources.
Abegbe, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA), Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (FCTI) and Institute of Management Consultants (FIMC), also holds the CFAN designation.
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Modestus Anaesoronye is a leading Nigerian financial journalist with over two decades of experience reporting on the insurance and pension sectors across Nigeria and West Africa. He has held key editorial positions at major national media outlets, including The Comet, The Nation, and Financial Standard, and currently serves as a Senior Financial Analyst at BusinessDay Media Ltd.
A widely travelled reporter, he has covered industry developments in more than 14 countries across Africa and Asia.
Anaesoronye is a multiple award-winning journalist, honoured several times as Insurance Journalist of the Year and Pension Journalist of the Year by recognised industry bodies, including PensionScope and the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), among others.
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