Abuja — Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has come under criticism from the federal government for portraying an apocalyptic scenario about the country's debt profile.

The minister punched hole in the figure of Nigeria's debt to revenue ratio of 99 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 quoted by Atiku, saying it was not in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, where the former vice-president claimed he got it from.

He said contrary to Atiku's allusion that Nigeria has experienced alarming and unprecedented increase in the ratios of debt to GDP and debt service to revenue, the country's ratio of debt to GDP is one of the lowest in the world at 19 per cent as at December 31, 2019.

The minister added that the government is taking steps to increase revenue so as to bring down the ratio of debt service to revenue.

"One of the reasons why debt service to revenue is high is because revenue generation in Nigeria has been low with over-dependence on the oil sector.