Nigeria’s Federal Government borrowed nearly N12 trillion within the first nine months of 2025 but spent only a fraction of the funds on capital projects, raising fresh concerns over public spending and infrastructure delivery.
The News Chronicle reports that figures from the Budget Office showed the government secured N11.89 trillion in fresh loans between January and September 2025, while capital expenditure stood at just N3.10 trillion during the same period. The borrowing included N7.08 trillion from domestic sources and N4.81 trillion tied to multilateral and bilateral projects.
The report revealed that actual borrowing exceeded government projections for the period, yet spending on roads, infrastructure and development projects remained significantly below budget expectations.
Analysts noted that only about 18 percent of the planned capital budget was implemented, leaving a huge gap in project execution despite the rising debt profile. Several ministries and agencies also reportedly recorded weak capital spending performance.
The data further showed that multilateral project loans rose sharply above budget targets, while no foreign commercial borrowing was recorded during the period.
Economic observers have continued to question the effectiveness of Nigeria’s borrowing strategy as concerns grow over rising debt levels, slow infrastructure delivery and the limited impact of government spending on economic growth and living conditions across the country.
