According to the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s total public debt stock will reach N46.25 trillion, or $103.11 billion, in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Nigeria’s debt was N44.06tn as of September 2022. According to the DMO, the new figure includes the Federal Government’s and sub-national governments’ total domestic and external debt stocks (36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory).
As of December 31, 2021, the comparative figure for public debt was N39.56tn, or $95.77bn. This means that the country’s debt increased by N6.69 trillion, or $7.34 billion, in a single year.
According to the DMO, new borrowings by the FGN and sub-national governments, primarily to fund budget deficits and carry out projects, as well as the issuance of promissory notes to settle some liabilities, contributed to the increase in debt stock.
In terms of debt profile, Lagos is the state with the highest debt profile, with a total of N807.21 billion recorded in Q4 2022, followed by Delta with N304.25 billion and Ogun with N270.45 billion.
Jigawa had the lowest debt of N43.95 billion, followed by Kebbi and Katsina, which had debts of N61.31 billion and N62.37 billion, respectively.
The agency said in a statement;
“As of December 31, 2022, the total public debt stock was N46.25tn or $103.11bn. In terms of composition, total domestic debt stock was N27.55tn ($61.42bn) while total external debt stock was N18.70tn ($41.69bn).
“Amongst the reasons for the increase in the total public debt stock were new borrowings by the FGN and sub-national governments, primarily to fund budget deficits and execute projects. The issuance of promissory notes by the FGN to settle some liabilities also contributed to the growth in the debt stock.
“On-going efforts by the Government to increase revenues from oil and non-oil sources through initiatives such as the Finance Acts and the Strategic Revenue Mobilization initiative are expected to support debt sustainability.
“The total public debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio for December 31, 2022, was 23.20 per cent and indicates a slight increase from the figure for December 31, 2022, at 22.47 per cent.
“The ratio of 23.20 per cent is within the 40 per cent limit self-imposed by Nigeria, the 55 per cent limit recommended by the World Bank/International Monetary Fund, and, the 70 per cent limit recommended by the Economic Community of West African States.”