Nigeria’s Public Debt Rises 10.7% to N97.34trn

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The public debt of Nigeria increased by 10.73 per cent or N9.43 trillion to N97.34 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2023 from N87.91 trillion in the third quarter of the same year.

This information was revealed by the Debt Management Office (DMO) in a statement issued on Friday, outlining the reason for the rise in the country’s debt and the composition.

The DMO disclosed in the statement the debt increased in the period under review due to new domestic borrowing through the sale of government securities like bonds and treasury bills.

The federal government decided to issue these instruments to fund the deficit outlined in the 2024 Appropriation Act, otherwise known as the 2024 budget.

The debt office noted that 61 per cent of the total debt was from the domestic market, accounting for N59.12 trillion, while N38.22 trillion is from external debt.

“At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 per cent of the total public debt stock while external debt at N38.22 trillion accounted for the balance of 39 per cent.

“Consistent with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral (49.77 per cent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 per cent) or total of 63.79 per cent which are mostly concessional and semi-concessional,” a part of the disclosure stated.

The agency earlier stated in the statement that, “Nigeria’s public debt stock as at December 31, 2023, was N97.34trillion or $108.229 billion.

“This amount comprises the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the 36 states governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“There was an increase of N9.43 trillion over the comparative figure for September, 2023 which was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the FGN to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.”

Meanwhile, the DMO has expressed its commitment to employing best practices in public debt management, while also acknowledging the critical role of the fiscal authorities’ ongoing efforts to increase revenue, which is essential for maintaining debt sustainability.