Tinubu’s new borrowings take Nigeria’s public debt surging to N97.34 trillion

Data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) has revealed that Nigeria’s public debt has hit about N97.34 trillion as of Q4 2023.

DMO stated this in a statement on Friday, March 22, 2024.

Nigeria borrows to fund 2024 budget

The DMO said Nigeria’s public debt, as of December 31, 2023, stood at 97.34 trillion or $108.22 billion.

DMO said: “This amount comprises the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory.”

According to the statement, the amount shows a significant increase compared to the N89.43 trillion recorded in September 2023.

The agency disclosed that this was mainly due to new domestic borrowings by the Tinubu government to finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursement by multilateral and bilateral lenders.

Nigeria’s external and domestic debt balloons

Punch reported that DMO stated that at N59.12 trillion, Nigeria’s total domestic debt accounted for 61% of the total debt stock, while external debt at N14.382 trillion accounted for the balance of 39%.

“Consistent with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral (49.77 per cent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 per cent ) or a total of 63.79 per cent, which are mostly concessional and semi-concessional,” DMO added.

DMO stated that it has continued to employ the best practices in public debt management and is committed to increasing the country’s revenue.

“Whilst the DMO continues to employ best practice in public debt management, the recent and ongoing efforts of the fiscal authorities to shore up revenue will support debt sustainability,” it stated.