The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, has said the Federal Government will continue to borrow money despite a major rise in revenue.
Adedeji spoke on Tuesday during the Meet-the-Press series at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. He explained that borrowing is not a weakness but part of Nigeria’s long-term economic plan.
“Borrowing is not a problem…is borrowing not part of the budget we submitted to the National Assembly? Was it not approved? Are we borrowing aside what was approved?” he asked.
He revealed that federal revenue collection rose sharply to N3.64tn in September 2025, compared to N711bn in May 2023 — a 411 per cent increase. He said the growth was driven by non-oil collections, which jumped to N1.06tn from N151bn two years ago. Oil revenue rose to N644bn, while VAT tripled to N723bn.
Adedeji defended the government’s borrowing, saying every country and company relies on it to sustain growth.
“What is the component of a country’s budget? You have your expenditure, revenue, and loan in all budgets. If my expenditure is N100,000 and my plan is that N80,000 will be from revenue, I will borrow N20,000. If I’ve done N90,000 revenue and I’m borrowing N10,000 according to the budget, what is the problem with that?” he explained.
He stressed that loans are for long-term investments, not salaries.
“Borrowing allows governments to avoid higher future costs,” he said, adding that projects like roads should be funded in a way that future generations who use them also contribute through taxes.
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The FIRS boss criticised those who oppose borrowing, calling them “container economists” who rely on shallow social media debates.
“There is no country or individual in the world that survives based on its own income,” he said.
His comments come two months after President Bola Tinubu asked the National Assembly to approve a $21.5bn external loan, including a $2bn bond and N757.98bn to settle pension liabilities. This request followed Tinubu’s earlier statement that Nigeria had met its 2025 revenue target ahead of schedule and would no longer rely on borrowing to fund the budget.
Despite criticisms of heavy borrowing, Adedeji insisted that loans are an essential part of Nigeria’s financial ecosystem and economic stability.