Economy
Nigeria’s Revenue-to-Debt Service Ratio Now 68%—Wale Edun
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s revenue-to-debt service ratio declined from 97 per cent in 2023 to 68 per cent in 2024, indicating a reduction in the debt burden of the government, the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun has disclosed.
Debt service measures accrued interests paid on Nigeria’s debt which currently stands at N121.7 trillion. So, this means that for every N1 the country earns, it now pays 68 Kobo to service its debt obligations
The Minister said the country’s revenue is now being managed to promote transparency, accountability, and government spending visibility.
According to Mr Edun, the country’s revenue condition has been revamped as it no longer depends on ways and means advances from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to fund its fiscal obligations.
“There has been a reconfiguration of the processes and the procedures to give greater visibility, transparency and accountability in government spending. That’s the way the government can earn the trust of the people that their money is being spent wisely.
“This government has exited ways and means borrowing.
“Total debt service has declined from 97 per cent of revenue in the first half of 2023 to 68 per cent in 2024,” Mr Edun said.
The finance minister said the Bola Tinubu-led federal government expect the debt stock of Nigeria to decline to about $95 billion in Dollar terms.
“There is a focus on inflation, production and supporting businesses as a whole. As part of the implementation plans of the short-term stabilization package, particular focus will be given to driving food inflation and creating an improved investment climate for oil and gas.
“By the time we can have a successful harvest and can reduce post-harvest losses, we expect inflation to come down between 20 per cent and 25 per cent. This has already been signalled by the Central Bank.
“We expect the total debt stock to be below in dollar terms, $95 billion. And we expect budget deficits to be around 4 per cent which is the target,” Mr Edun added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
