Nigeria’s Debt Stock to Hit N77 Trillion in 2023 as FG Embarks on New Borrowings
- Nigeria’s national debt profile will hit about N77 trillion in 2023, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO)
- The Director-General of the DMO, Patience Oniha, said that new borrowings from CBN will increase the country’s debt
- She said that the debt profile will certainly cross the N70 trillion mark if the new borrowings are considered
Nigeria’s debt stock is set to hit about N77 trillion with the addition of the N22.7 trillion loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the federal government as well as new borrowings billed for 2023.
The country’s debt profile hit N44.06 trillion in the third quarter of 2022 from N39.56 trillion at the end of 2021, data from Debt Management Office (DMO) said.
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Buhari begs NASS to approve restructuring
According to Patience Oniha, Director-General of the Debt Management Office, the country’s debt already crossed the N44 trillion mark in September 2022 and immediately after the National Assembly approves the securitisation of the CBN’s Ways and Means, the amount would be added to the national debt.
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She said the move will bring the total debt profile to N77 trillion if the new loans are added.
BusinessDay Report said that the DMO boss stated this while answering questions on debt during the public presentation and breakdown of the 2023 Appropriation Act in Abuja.
The debt profile is also growing from the issuance of promissory notes, inherited in part from previous governments, with more to be issued between now and June 2023.
President Muhammadu last week wrote to the National Assembly asking for approval for the restructuring of N22.7 trillion in Ways and Means advances given to the Nigerian government by the CBN.
The lawmakers refused to approve the president’s request, insisting on conducting due diligence.
Debt will grow if request is not granted, Minister says
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed said approving the CBN securitisation would be beneficial, saying the interest on the debt is worrisome.
Ahmed stated that if the request is not approved, the interest rate will continue to accumulate from about N1.8 trillion to N2.2 trillion in addition to the principal.
The Punch reports that The Ways and Means Advance by CBN is a loan facility through which the Central Bank of Nigeria finances the shortfalls in the nation’s budget.
FG spends N5.24tn on debt servicing in 2022
Ahmed said the Nigerian government has spent about N5.24 trillion on debt servicing alone between January and November 2022, out of its N12.87 trillion total spending for the same period.
She said domestic debt consumed N2.5 trillion, foreign debt N1.08 trillion and interest on CBN loans stood at N1.64 trillion.
The World Bank had projected that Nigeria’s borrowing from the CBN would consume 62 per cent of government revenue by 2027, irrespective of the country’s restructuring plan.
Debt Stock: Nigeria's most indebted geopolitical zones in 2022
Legit.ng reported that according to data from the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria's total debt stock has hit over N41 trillion as of March 2021.
The breakdown of the debt, tabulated by Legit.ng shows that the various states in Nigeria contribute immensely to the national debt stock.
According to reports, Nigeria's total public debt stock rose from N39.56 trillion in December 2021 to N41.60 trillion, $100.07 billion in the first three months of 2022, January to March, the Debt Management Office (DMO) revealed yesterday.
Source: Legit.ng
