The Debt Management Office has announced that Nigeria’s total public debt stock increased to N46.25tn or $103.11bn in the fourth quarter of 2022.
As of September 2022, Nigeria’s debt figure was N44.06tn. The DMO said the new figure consists of the domestic and external total debt stocks of the Federal Government and the sub-national governments (36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory).
The comparative figure of public debt as of December 31, 2021, was N39.56tn or $95.77bn. This means that the country’s debt increased by N6.69trn or $7.34bn within one year.
The DMO said new borrowings by the FGN and sub-national governments, primarily to fund budget deficits and execute projects and the issuance of promissory notes to settle some liabilities also contributed to the growth in the debt stock.
In a debt profile breakdown, the commercial hub of the nation, Lagos, tops the states with the highest debt profile recording a total of N807.21 billion in Q4 2022, while Delta came in second with N304.25 billion and Ogun with N270.45 billion.
Jigawa recorded the lowest debt with N43.95 billion followed by Kebbi and Katsina with N61.31 billion and N62.37 billion respectively.
Credit: LindaIkejiblog