The Presidency and Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele have described S&P Global Ratings’ upgrade of Nigeria’s sovereign credit rating from B-minus to B with a Stable Outlook as the country’s first such upgrade by the agency in 14 years, and the third major rating improvement in 12 months following similar actions by Fitch and Moody’s in 2025.
The Presidency said in a statement that the development reinforced the resilience and commitment of the Tinubu administration to resetting Nigeria’s economic trajectory, noting that the upgrade went beyond rising global oil prices to reflect substantive structural improvements including enhanced oil production through improved security, the liberalization of the foreign exchange market, and fiscal reforms that were expected to reduce the debt-to-revenue ratio to 338 percent in 2026 from approximately 500 percent in 2023.
The statement also projected that Nigeria’s current account surplus would grow to 5.8 percent of GDP in 2026 from 4.8 percent in 2025, and that inflation would average 17.7 percent in 2026 before easing below 10 percent by 2028.
Oyedele said the three consecutive upgrades from Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P sent a strong collective signal to global investors, development partners, and financial markets that Nigeria was regaining macroeconomic credibility. He said S&P specifically highlighted improvements in Nigeria’s external position, stronger balance of payments dynamics, increased oil production, expanding domestic refining and export capacity, and sustained implementation of key reforms including foreign exchange market liberalization.
The minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to prudent fiscal management and a market-driven economy anchored on transparency, competition, and effective regulatory oversight, while maintaining its position against the reintroduction of fuel subsidies, describing them as historically responsible for fiscal distortions, smuggling incentives, weakened foreign exchange liquidity, and diversion of public resources from national priorities.
