Lawmakers Cry Out As Nigeria’s Debt Reaches N42.84trn

The House of Representatives at the resumption of plenary yesterday expressed concern over the growing debt profile of the country.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) revealed that Nigeria’s total debt as of June this year stood at N42.84 trillion.

The speaker of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, during his welcome remarks after the long recess also raised concerns over the decline in crude oil production due to theft and sabotage.

A breakdown of the debt figures released by the DMO yesterday has shown that the majority of the funds borrowed were done domestically with 72.53 per cent being FGN bonds.

A statement posted on the DMO’s website also indicated that Nigeria’s total public debt stock, comprising the debt obligations of the federal, state governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) rose by N1.24 trillion within three months, from N41.60 trillion ($100.07 billion) as at March 30, 2022, to N42.84 trillion ($103.31billion) by June 30, 2022.

The latest data released by the DMO also shows that domestic debt stock for the review period stood at N26.23 trillion ($63.24 billion) due to new borrowings by the federal government to part-finance the deficit in the 2022 Appropriation (Repeal and Enactment) Act, including fresh borrowings by state governments and the FCT.

From the N26.23 domestic debt stock standing during the reference period, the 36 states and FCT owed N5.281 trillion, while the federal government accounted for the balance of N20.949 trillion.

The DMO explained that the total public Debt to GDP as of June 30, 2022, was 23.06 per cent, compared to 23.27 per cent as of March 30, 2022, noting that the Debt Service-to-Revenue Ratio remained high.

It said, “The total public debt stock, representing the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the 36 state governments, and the Federal Capital Territory, was N42.84tn ($103.31 billion) as of June 30, 2022. The comparative figures for March 30, 2022, was N41.60tn ($100.07 billion).”