Nigeria’s public debt has increased to N87.91 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2023. This is a marginal increase from N87.38 trillion it was in the second quarter.
The Debt Management Office ( DMO) which disclosed this in its third quarter 2023 public debt report published yesterday also informed that the nation’s total external debt stock declined by $1.57 billion during the period from $43.16 billion to $41.59 billion as of September 30, 2023.
DMO in the the statement, said the reason for the decline is due to the redemption of Nigeria’s $500 million Eurobonds and the first principal payment of $413.859 million the IMF’s $3.4 billion loan obtained during the 2020 COVID-19 period.
According to the statement, “External debt decreased due to a redemption of USD500 million Eurobond and the payment of USD 413.859 as first principal repayment of the USD4.3 billion obtained from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2020 during COVID-19″
It however noted that Nigeria’s total public debt increased marginally from N87.38 trillion at the end of the second quarter to N87.91 trillion ($114.35 billion) as of September 30, 2023. This was pushed by the increase in domestic debt stock of the country which went up by N1.80 trillion to N50.196 trillion at the end of the third quarter.
“The amount represents the Domestic and External Debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the 36 State Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory,” DMO said.
“The servicing of these Debts in addition to other Debts, are clear demonstrations of the FGN’s commitment to honouring its debt obligations.”
Meanwhile Nigerians have consistently raised eyebrows over the the spate of borrowings by the federal government which has led to the astronomical rise in the debt profile. Although the government has always argued that the country does not have a debt problems as its debt to GDP is still within limits, but that it has a revenue problem.
In the 2024 budget proposal before the National Assembly, the federal government plans to borrow N7.83 trillion as part of measures to bridge the budget deficit of N9.18 trillion. However, the federal government is also looking to reduce its dependence on debts and raise revenue.