The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Thursday confirmed that Nigeria’s public debt has hit ₦121.67 trillion ($91.46 billion).
The government of President Bola Tinubu borrowed ₦6.53tn between December 2023 and March this year, according to the DMO data.
The DMO said as of March 31, 2024, the country’s domestic and external debts stood at ₦121.67 trillion ($91.46 billion) including the securitization of Ways and Means.
The debt represents external and domestic borrowings by the Federal Government and the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
While total domestic debt was put at ₦65.65trn ($46.29bn), total external debt was ₦56.02trn ($42.12bn).
Nigeria’s debt rose by ₦24.33 trillion within three months – from ₦97.34 trillion ($108.23 billion) in December 2023 to ₦121.67 trillion ($91.46 billion).
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The DMO stated that total public debt grew from ₦59.12trn last December to ₦65.65trn as of March 2024.
The DMO statement read in parts “Nigeria’s Total Public Debt, comprising the Total Domestic and External Debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the thirty-six (36) state governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), stood at N121.67 trillion (USD91.46 billion) as at March 31, 2024.
“The comparative figure for December 31, 2023, was N97.34 trillion (USD108.23 billion). Total Domestic Debt was N65.65 trillion (USD46.29 billion) while Total External Debt was N56.02 trillion (USD42.12 billion).
“Excluding Naira exchange rate movements in Q1 2024, only the Domestic Debt component of Total Public Debt grew from N59.12 trillion on December 31, 2023, to N65.65 trillion on March 31, 2024.
“The increase was from new borrowing to part-finance the 2024 Budget deficit and securitization of a portion of the N7.3 trillion Ways and Means Advances at the Central Bank of Nigeria.”