Good News as Nigeria Repays Chinese, World Bank, Other Loans, Breakdown Shows External Debts

• The Nigerian government has disclosed that it spent about $3.5 billion on debt service in 2023
• The government said it serviced the debts owed to China Eximbank, Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) and the IMF
• A new date from the Debt Management Office (DMO) also showed that Nigeria’s debt stock rose to N97.38 trillion as of December 2023

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) says the Nigerian government paid $3.5 billion between January and December 2023.

The DMO said that commercial loans accounted for 55% or $1.92 billion in service costs during the period under review.

Nigeria repays China, Japan, others

The debt servicing was followed by multilateral debt service costs of $1.2 billion or 35%.

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Multilateral debts are owed to the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Islamic Development Bank, and the European Development Fund.

Bilateral debt services costs for the period include loans by China Eximbank, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the German Agency, which account for 10% of the $344 million.

Between October and December 2023, over $943 million was paid to service external debts.

According to a ThisDay report, multilateral institutions include the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the African Development Bank, and the Islamic Development Fund, which accounted for about $552.12 million or 59% of the total external debt service cost for the last quarter of 2023.

Nigeria's debt stock hits new high

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Reports say commercial loans accounted for 39% of the debt service cost for the quarter at $369.530, while bilateral debt service cost stood at three per cent or $27 million.

The DMO data revealed that Nigeria’s public debt stock, including debt owed by the federal government, states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), rose every quarter by 10.7% from N87.87 trillion in Q3 2023 to N97.34 trillion in Q4 of last year.

The new debt stock of N97.3 trillion includes domestic debt of N59.12 trillion and external debt of N38.22 trillion.

The development means an increase of N9.43 trillion over the relative figure for September 2023.

The DMO said the increase in the nation’s debt stock is due to a rise in domestic borrowing by the Nigerian government to finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursement by multilateral and bilateral creditors.

DMO said:

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“At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 per cent of the total public debt stock while external debt at N38.22 trillion accounted for 39 per cent."

Nigeria’s debt to hit a new record

Legit.ng also reported that the official data on Nigeria's public debt profile reveals a notable surge, surpassing an eightfold increase in the last ten years.

This substantial growth becomes even more evident when considering the inclusion of the central bank loan recently authorised for securitisation by President Bola Tinubu.

Legit.ng recently reported that the Senate approved President Bola Tinubu's proposal to securitise the outstanding N7.3 trillion Ways and Means.

Source: Legit.ng