The Debt Management Office of Nigeria has stated that Nigeria’s public debt increased to N97.34trn ($108bn) in the fourth quarter of 2023.
DMO revealed this in a statement provided to reporters on Friday.
Public debt is a method for a country to obtain additional funds for economic growth. This enables a country to plan and execute larger projects that can contribute to its development.
The statement mentioned, “Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as of December 31, 2023, was N97.34tn or $108.229bn.
“This amount includes the Domestic and External Debt Stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the 36 States Governments and the Federal Capital Territory.”
The document disclosed that this amount represents an increase of N89.43tn from the comparative figure for September 2023, mainly due to new domestic borrowing to partially fund the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
It stated that, at N59.12trn, Total Domestic Debt accounted for 61 percent of the Total Public Debt Stock, while External Debt at N1438.22trn accounted for the balance of 39 percent.
“In line with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s External Debt Stock was inclined toward loans from multilateral (49.77 percent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 percent ) or a total of 63.79 percent which are primarily concessional and semi-concessional,” the document added.
The DMO stated that it has continued to utilize the best practices in public debt management and is dedicated to bolstering the country’s revenue.
“While the DMO persists in employing best practices in public debt management, the recent and ongoing efforts of the fiscal authorities to boost revenue will support debt sustainability,” it stated.
Meanwhile, in December 2023, Nigeria’s total public debt rose slightly by 0.61 percent quarter-on-quarter to N87.91trn in the third quarter of 2023.
