With a 24.99 percent increase in just three months, Nigeria’s overall public debt has risen to N121.67 trillion, according to the Debt Management Office.
This increased amount is based on a debt total as of December 2023 of N97.34tn ($108.23bn).
In a statement released on Thursday, the DMO stated that the Federal Government of Nigeria, the 36 state governments, and the Federal Capital Territory’s entire debt from January to March 2024 is included in the public debt.
The report read, “Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N121.67tn ($91.46bn) as of March 31, 2024. The comparative figure for December 31, 2023, was N97.34 trillion ($108.23bn). Total Domestic Debt was N65.65tn ($46.29bn) while total external debt was N56.02tn ($42.12bn).”
Furthermore, our correspondent noted that the depreciation of the naira is primarily responsible for the increase, given that the overall debt was decreased by $16.77 billion, or 18.34 percent, in dollar terms.
The office converted external loans from N899.39 to naira in December 2023 using the official exchange rate of N1,330/$.
It further stated that, with the shift in the value of the naira not accounting for the first quarter of 2024, the national debt increased significantly from N59.12 trillion on December 31, 2023 to N65.65 trillion on March 31, 2024.
In addition, the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory have N4.068 trillion in domestic debt and $3.1 billion in external debt.
The increase is also linked to fresh borrowing that was done at the Central Bank of Nigeria in order to partially finance the budget deficit for 2024 and the securitization of a portion of the N7.3tn Ways and Means advances.
The statement added, “Excluding Naira exchange rate movements in Q1 2024, only the Domestic Debt component of Total Public Debt grew from N59.12 trillion on December 31, 2023, to N65.65 trillion on March 31, 2024.
“The increase was from new borrowing to part-finance the 2024 Budget deficit and securitization of a portion of the N7.3 trillion Ways and Means Advances at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“Whilst borrowing, as provided in the 2024 Appropriation Act, will continue, we expect improvements in the Government’s Revenue to enhance debt sustainability.”
Fearing rising expenses for servicing its external debt, the government has borrowed $4.95 billion in loans from the World Bank in the last year, according to a Thursday PUNCH article.
This occurred as the government was still anticipating a new $4.4 billion loan approval from the Africa Development Bank and the international lender for the upcoming year.
