By Tunji Adeleye
Amid the ongoing economic hardship confronting Nigeria, data recently published by the Debt Management Office (DMO) of Nigeria has revealed that the country’s total public debt has increased significantly to N121.67 trillion in the first three months of 2024.
A press statement issued by DMO revealed that the public debt of Nigeria soared by N24.33 trillion as of March 31, 2024, from the total public debt of N97.34 trillion as of December 31, 2023.
The breakdown of the total public debt comprises domestic and external debts of the Federal Government, the thirty-six state governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In comparison, the total public debt as of December 31, 2023, stood at N97.34 trillion (approximately $108.23 billion). This represents a substantial increase of N24.33 trillion or 24.99% within three months.
Further breakdown of the report showed that as of March 31, 2024, the domestic debt component stood at N65.65 trillion (approximately $46.29 billion), while the external debt component amounted to N56.02 trillion (approximately $42.12 billion).
This means that 53.96% of the total debt is owed to domestic creditors.
According to the DMO statement, the rise is attributed to new borrowing undertaken to partly finance the 2024 Budget deficit and the securitization of a portion of the N7.3 trillion Ways and Means Advances at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The statement from the DMO reads in part: “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.”
