Nigeria’s total public debt hit N87.38tn at the end of the second quarter of 2023 – representing an increase of 75.29 per cent or N37.53trn compared to N49.85trn recorded at the end of March 2023.
The Debt Management Office in a report on Thursday said the debt includes the N22.71tn Ways and Means Advances of the Central Bank of Nigeria to the Federal Government.
“Nigeria’s total public debt stock as at June 30, 2023, was N87.38trn ($113.42bn). It comprises the total domestic and external debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the thirty-six states, and the Federal Capital Territory.
“The major addition to the Public Debt Stock was the inclusion of the N22.712trn securitized FGN’s Ways and Means Advances,” the DMO disclosed.
By implication, the government’s current revenue profile may not support higher levels of borrowing.
In a report titled, ‘Report of the Annual National Market Access Country Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA),’ the debt office had said, “The projected FGN Debt Service-to-Revenue ratio at 73.5 per cent for 2023 is high and a threat to debt sustainability.
“It means that the revenue profile cannot support higher levels of borrowing. Attaining a sustainable FGN Debt Service-to-Revenue ratio would require an increase of FGN Revenue from N10.49trn projected in the 2023 Budget to about N15.5trn.”
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