The Debt Management Office (DMO) has disclosed that Nigeria’s total public debt currently stands at N121.67 trillion, representing N24.33 trillion or 24.99% surge within three months.
The DMO, in its Press Release on the nation’s debt stock issued on Thursday reported that the total debt stock as at the end of December 2023 stood at N97.34tn (about $108.23 billion)
According to the release, the public debt profile comprises of Total Domestic and External Debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the 36 state governments, and the Federal Capital Territory.
The Office clarified: “Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N121.67 trillion (USD91.46 billion) as of March 31, 2024. The comparative figure for December 31, 2023, was N97.34 trillion (USD108.23 billion). Total Domestic Debt was N65.65 trillion (USD46.29 billion) while Total External Debt was N56.02 trillion (USD42.12 billion).”
Analysts have partly linked the rising debt stock of the country to the depreciating value of the Naira as the total debt declined in USD terms.
In the past year, the Federal Government has borrowed a total of $4.95 billion from the World Bank despite the concerns by experts about the increasing external debt servicing costs and the negative implications for the nation’s economy and the citizens’ socio-economic wellbeing.
As expected, the DMO has consistently justified the borrowings by the tiers of government on the grounds that Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio is sustainable as it still falls within global prescribed benchmark ratio.
