Nigeria’s Public Debt Surges by 25% in Three Months, Hits N121.67 Trillion

Nigeria's entire public debt, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO), has risen to N121.67 trillion in just three months. According to The Cable, this amount is a 24.99 percent increase, or N24.33 trillion, above the N97.34 trillion as of December 2023.

The 36 states and the federal capital territory (FCT) make up Nigeria's public debt profile, which includes the domestic and foreign debt stocks of the federal and subnational governments.

The DMO claims that increased domestic borrowing by the federal government to partially finance the budget deficit in 2024 and payments from bilateral and multilateral lenders were the main causes of the increase.

“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.

Whilst borrowing, as provided in the 2024 Appropriation Act, will continue, we expect improvements in the government’s revenue to enhance debt sustainability.”

On June 13, the World Bank approved two significant "financial support packages" totaling $2.25 billion, according to Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy. The federal government has obtained a $500 million loan from the World Bank to improve the nation's energy distribution, according to a May report from the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

The federal government had previously received $1.5 billion for its economic stabilisation strategy and $750 million for humanitarian and social reforms from the World Bank.