Nigeria’s total public debt is now ₦121.67 trillion ($91.46 billion), the Debt Management Office (DMO) said Thursday.
The DMO said as of March 31, 2024, the country’s domestic and external debts stood at ₦121.67 trillion ($91.46 billion).
Nigeria’s debt rose by ₦24.33 trillion within three months – from ₦97.34 trillion ($108.23 billion) in December 2023 to ₦121.67 trillion ($91.46 billion).
The debt represents external and domestic borrowings by the Federal Government and the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
While total domestic debt was put at ₦65.65trn ($46.29bn), total external debt was ₦56.02trn ($42.12bn).
The DMO stated that total public debt grew from ₦59.12trn last December to ₦65.65trn as of March 2024.
The total debt was reduced in dollar terms by $16.77bn or 18.34 per cent, as the increase was driven majorly by naira depreciation. The office used an official exchange rate of ₦1,330/$ to convert external debts to naira from ₦899.39 used to convert the debt in December 2023.
It added that excluding the impact of the naira exchange rate movement in the first quarter of 2024, the domestic debt saw a marked increase to ₦65.65tn on March 31, 2024, from ₦59.12tn on December 31, 2023.
According to the DMO, the increase was primarily due to new domestic borrowing by the federal government to partly fund the deficit in the 2024 budget as well as disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
“Total domestic debt was N65.65 trillion (USD46.29 billion) while total external debt was N56.02 trillion (USD42.12 billion). 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.”
On June 13, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announced the approval of two major “financial support packages” by the World Bank — valued at $2.25 billion. In May, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) said the federal government has secured a $500m World Bank loan to boost electricity distribution in the country.
Prior to this, the federal government had received $750 million from the World Bank for humanitarian and social reforms and $1.5 billion for its economic stabilisation plan.
