Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has said Nigeria’s total public debt stock now stands at N22.38 trillion or $73.21 billion.
The nation’s debt stock comprises external and domestic debts of the federal government, the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In a statement issued by the debt office, it was disclosed that these figures were about the same recorded in June 2018.
It was stated that the external debt declined by 2.02 percent to $21.592 billion largely due to the redemption by Nigeria of a $500 million Eurobond which matured on July 12, 2018.
The Eurobond, which was issued for a tenor of 5 years in 2013, was the first Eurobond maturity for Nigeria and the ability of government to repay it seamlessly boosted the nation’s position as a good credit in the International Capital Market.
The domestic debt of the FGN, states and the FCT grew by 1.19 percent from N15.629 trillion in June 2018 to N15.814 trillion in September 2018.
According to the DMO, this increase of N185 billion was attributed to the FGN (N135 billion) and states and FCT (N50 billion).
The combination of an increase in the level of domestic debt and decrease in the external debt stock, resulted in a slight shift in the portfolio composition.
As at September 30, 2018, the share of domestic debt was 70.51 percent compared with 69.83 percent in June 2018. This trend is expected to be reversed in Q4 2018 as the new external borrowing of N849 billion (about $2.78 billion) provided in the 2018 Appropriation Act is expected to be raised within the quarter.
