Nigeria’s public debt rises by N24.33 trillion in three months

The Debt Management Office (DMO) of Nigeria has announced that the nation’s total public debt has increased significantly to N121.67 trillion (approximately $91.46 billion) as of March 31, 2024.

According to a statement from the DMO, this figure encompasses the combined domestic and external debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), 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 a three-month period.

The increase is driven majorly by naira devaluation, as the total debt was reduced in dollar terms by $16.77 billion or 18.34%

The breakdown of the total debt as of March 31, 2024, shows that the domestic debt component was 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.

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The statement from the DMO also noted that excluding the impact of naira exchange rate movements in the first quarter of 2024, the domestic debt saw a marked increase from N59.12 trillion at the end of December 2023 by N6.53 trillion or 11.05%.

This rise is attributed to new borrowing undertaken to part-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 read: “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.”

The DMO’s Director General, Patience Oniha, earlier stated that the federal government raised N4.5 trillion out of the N6 trillion target in the 2024 budget.

She noted that domestic securities remain a major source of federal government spending.