Claim
Several claims in Atiku Abubakar’s 2026 Independence Day address, including on Nigeria’s public debt and the national budget.
Finding (according to The FactCheckHub)
The debt and budget claims checked were rated true
On debt, official records support the claim. The Debt Management Office published its figures as of 30 June 2026 on 25 September, putting Nigeria’s total public debt at N166.79 trillion.
On the budget, the president signed the Appropriation (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill, 2025 on 30 September 2026, extending the 2025 budget’s implementation period from 30 September to 31 December 2026, while the 2026 Appropriation Act is already in force after presidential assent in April 2026.
The full report covers more claims than we have summarised here, so read it before relying on any single verdict.
Source
Read the original at The FactCheckHub. This summary was written in our own words and links to the original report, which has the full evidence. Checked on 5 October 2026; any later update will be on the original page.
