Economy
DMO Puts Nigeria’s Debt Profile at N41.6trn
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria’s debt profile as of March 31, 2022, has now reached N41.6 trillion, the Director-General of Debt Management Office (DMO), Ms Patience Oniha, has confirmed.
Ms Oniha confirmed this development to the House of Representatives Committee on Finance headed by Mr James Faleke on Thursday in Abuja.
The committee was engaging government officials on the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Policy Paper (FSP) ahead of the presentation of the 2023 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari in the coming weeks.
The debt office chief explained that the federal governments account for 85 per cent of the total debt stock, while the state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) account for the remaining 15 per cent.
She said the debt rose from N32.9 trillion in December 2020 to N39.6 trillion in December 2021 and to N41.6 trillion in March 2022.
“As at December 2020, the debt stock of Nigeria, which includes the federal government, state governments and the federal capital territory, was N32.92 trillion. By December 2021, it was N39.556 trillion. As at March of this year, it was N41.6 trillion,” Ms Oniha stated.
She informed the lawmakers that, “Debt has grown and that has come from the annual budget. There are 3 levels where those borrowings have increased. We have been running a deficit budget for many, many years.
“So, each time you approve a budget with a deficit, you approve it giving us a mandate, an authority to borrow and it will reflect in the debt stock, so debt stock will increase. Also, remember that states are also borrowing, so we add their own. They also have laws governing their borrowings.”
“The second leg to that really is that as debt stock increases, debt service will also increase. So, the clear message is for us to go through the budget because we have been having a deficit budget for many years and have been borrowing significantly.
“From the COVID period in 2020, the level of borrowing had increased significantly as you know. Those budgets pass through this House. The issue is how we can reduce the debt. One of them is generating revenue which we have talked about.
“So, if revenue is high, your deficit will be lower and new borrowing is lower, then your new borrowing will be less and your debt stock will be lower and debt service to revenue will now be so high.
“So, the challenge is, we have been borrowing because of shortfalls. The other thing to do is to look at our expenditure profile. What can we do to reduce it because you are asking me what is the remedy? It is coming from the budget.
“There is revenue, there is expenditure listed in various categories, personnel, overhead and capital. So, those are what bring out the deficit we borrow for. It is those things that should be interrogated in addition to increasing revenue significantly. “Let me say that a World Bank report just showed that in terms of debt to GDP ratio, Nigeria is low but for debt service to revenue ratio, we are very high. So, if you look at the tax to GDP ratio of these other countries, they are in multiples of Nigeria.
“The World Bank did a survey of about 197 countries and Nigeria is listed as number 195. That means we beat only two countries and these countries are Yemen and Afghanistan and I don’t think we want to be in those places.
“We can’t talk about borrowing without talking about revenues and we can’t say why is the debt stock growing. It’s growing because we are running a deficit budget and some of you may be aware that we are also issuing promissory notes to refinance arrears of government which also comes to the National Assembly for approvals,” she added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has promised to work with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc for the prevention of financial crime, and the reinforcement of trust and confidence in Nigeria’s capital market.
The Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, gave this assurance on Wednesday at the closing gong ceremony in his honour at the NGX in Lagos.
The police chief said, “A transparent and well-regulated capital market is vital to Nigeria’s economic growth. The Nigeria Police Force remains committed to working with regulators and market operators to prevent financial crime, protect investors, and uphold the integrity of our financial system.”
Earlier in his welcome address, the chairman of NGX Group, Mr Umaru Kwairanga, commended the leadership of the police in supporting market integrity.
“Market integrity is a shared responsibility. By honouring the Inspector-General of Police, we are reinforcing the importance of institutional alignment in protecting investors and preserving trust in our financial system.
“Strong collaboration between regulators, enforcement agencies, and market infrastructure institutions is essential to building a resilient and credible market that supports economic growth,” he stated.
The Director-General of SEC, Mr Emomotimi Agama, while speaking, emphasized the importance of coordinated enforcement, noting: “Investor protection is at the core of market regulation, and today’s engagement highlights how critical collaboration with law enforcement is to achieving that mandate. This partnership strengthens our enforcement capacity, enhances deterrence against illegal investment activities, and reinforces confidence in the Nigerian capital market.”
As for the chairman of NGX Limited, Mr Ahonsi Unuigbe, “A transparent and orderly market can only thrive where rules are respected and misconduct is addressed decisively. The presence of the Nigeria Police Force in this collective effort sends a strong signal that safeguarding the market is a national priority.”
Similarly, the chief executive of NGX Group, Mr Temi Popoola, stressed the importance of aligning innovation with oversight, pointing out that, “Technology and market growth must be supported by strong enforcement and investor protection frameworks. Our collaboration with the SEC and the Nigeria Police Force reflects a unified approach to preserving the credibility of Nigeria’s capital market.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rallied by 0.09 per cent on Wednesday, February 4, amid renewed appetite for unlisted stocks.
This lifted the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 3.18 points to 3,641.30 points from the previous session’s 3,641.30 points and raised the market capitalisation by N1.9 billion to N2.180 trillion from the N2.178 trillion quoted on Tuesday.
The bourse recorded three price gainers and four price losers at the midweek session.
The advancers were led by Air Liquide Plc, which went up by N2.04 rise to end at N22.53 per share versus the previous session’s N20.49 per share, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) added 97 Kobo to sell at N44.97 per unit versus N44.00 per unit, and Acorn Petroleum Plc appreciated by 2 Kobo to N1.37 per share from N1.35 per share.
On the flip side, Geo-Fluids Plc lost 55 Kobo to sell at N6.26 per unit versus N6.81 per unit, Nipco Plc depreciated by 48 Kobo to trade at N259.00 per share versus N259.48 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc declined by 40 Kobo to N63.10 per unit from N63.50 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) depleted by 1 Kobo to 65 Kobo per share from 66 Kobo per share.
Yesterday, the volume of trades slid by 64.5 per cent to 2.5 million units from 7.0 million units, the value of transaction decreased by 53.2 per cent to N17.7 million from N37.9 million, and the number of deals went down by 47.1 per cent to 18 deals from 34 deals.
CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 16.0 million units valued at N652.6 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.7 million units exchanged for N111.2 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 11.7 million units traded for N76.1 million.
CSCS Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 16.0 million units sold for N652.6 million, trailed by Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 13.3 million units worth N5.3 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 11.7 million units valued at N76.1 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira rallied at the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday as supply continues to outweigh demand, giving it an edge against the United States Dollar.
In the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira improved its value on the greenback yesterday by N5 to quote at N1,450/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,455/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it gained N3 to trade at N1,383/$1, in contrast to Tuesday’s exchange rate of N1,386/$1.
In the the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), which is also the official market, the Naira firmed up against the Dollar at midweek by N14.63 or 1.1 per cent to settle at N1,358.28/$1 versus the preceding session’s N1,372.91/$1.
Against the Pound Sterling, the domestic currency appreciated on Wednesday by N14.16 to N1,863.43/£1 from the previous day’s N1,877.59/£1, and gained N13.73 on the Euro to end at N1,606.03/€1 versus the N1,619.76/€1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
The strengthening of the Naira value has been driven by the injection of forex into the financial markets by foreign investors seeking attractive investments in the emerging markets, helping to boost Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the capacity to support the local currency.
As of February 4, 2026, the reserves reached $46.59 billion.
The local currency has been able to find a solid path despite no indications of any intervention from the apex bank in recent week, strengthening the case of price discovery.
Policy moves by the CBN is also offering a backbone for the FX market as it considers some strategic reforms through a policy known as the Single Regulatory Window.
In its 2025 Fintech Report, the central bank said this scheme will significantly reduce time-to-market for new digital financial products by streamlining licensing and supervisory processes across multiple agencies.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was in red amid a broad sell-off in global technology stocks, with reports showing that liquidity was notably thin, amplifying price moves and contributing to forced liquidations. The decline followed a sharp sell-off in global technology stocks overnight, where concerns over the pace of artificial intelligence adoption and rising capital spending by major firms weighed heavily on valuations.
Bitcoin (BTC) lost 7.9 per cent to sell at $70,534.94, Ripple (XRP) declined by 11.2 per cent to $1.42, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 9.4 per cent to $689.70, Ethereum (ETH) crashed by 8.9 per cent to $2,072.46, and Solana (SOL) dipped by 8.7 per cent to $89.86.
In addition, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 6.9 per cent to $0.1008, Cardano (ADA) slipped by 6.8 per cent to $0.2792, Litecoin (LTC) dropped 5.1 per cent to trade at $57.56, and US Dollar Tether (USDT) went down by 0.1 per cent to $0.9980, while the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00.
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