Centre for Inclusive Social Development

What did we learn from yesterday’s conversation on Nigeria’s public debt?

We heard perspectives on what debt means beyond the numbers: access to information, public accountability, how borrowing affects everyday life, and the importance of citizens being able to follow the money.

If you missed it, catch up with the highlights from yesterday across our social media handles.

The conversation continues.

Thank you for joining the conversation.

The conversation around Nigeria’s public debt does not end with a panel or a report.

Together, we continue to ask important questions, demand accountability, and explore pathways towards sustainable development.

Thank you for being part of the conversation.

Debt can be a number. Accountability makes it a public conversation.

Onyekachi Chukwu, Strategy and Policy Lead at the International Budget Partnership (IBP) Nigeria, speaks on making Nigeria’s debt conversations more accessible, improving disclosure, and giving citizens the tools to follow public money from borrowing to outcomes.

Because knowing how much is owed is only part of the story.

Are you in the room? Join us now.

Accountability is a chain.

From timely reporting to meaningful citizen engagement, every link matters. Olusola Folayan, highlights why transparency, consistency and timely action are essential to making public debt accountability work.

Debt is not just a number. It has consequences.

Donald Ikenna O., Programme Manager of the Sustainable Nigeria Program at HBS Abuja, highlights how poor debt management can translate into degraded public services, stalled development and lost opportunities.

A loan is not just a figure in the budget.

As Olusola Folayan, noted, borrowing creates legal commitments that extend beyond the present, with implications for future governments and future budgets.

“The cost of debt distress isn’t abstract.”

Donald Ikenna O., Programme Manager of the Sustainable Nigeria Program at HBS Abuja, connected debt distress to realities people experience every day, from insecurity and unemployment to poor roads.

The question is not only how much Nigeria borrows, but what that borrowing delivers.

Accountability doesn’t end when the audit report is published.

As Olusola Folayan, Programme Manager at WFD Nigeria, highlighted, transparency also means making public financial information available, consistent and accessible enough for institutions to do their jobs properly.

Because accountability needs more than reports. It needs information people and institutions can actually use.

It’s not just about knowing the numbers. It’s about seeing what they mean in real life.

Donald Ikenna O., Programme Manager of the Sustainable Nigeria Program at HBS Abuja, highlighted two important gaps: the quality of public financial reporting and how climate realities are experienced by ordinary people.

From delayed audit and budget implementation reports to the everyday realities of climate change, accountability must connect the numbers to people’s lived experiences.

Were you in the room? Join the conversation and catch the full discussion.

Public debt shouldn’t be a conversation ordinary Nigerians are shut out of.

As Kachi Chukwu of IBP Nigeria noted, the technical language around public debt can leave citizens excluded from conversations that directly affect them.

The numbers may be complex. The conversation shouldn’t be inaccessible.

Are you in the room? Join us now.

👉🏽 https://bit.ly/nigeriapublicdebt