Reports had it on Wednesday that Nigeria’s public debt has hit a total of N31.01 trillion, at the end of June, 2020, according to the Debt Management Office’s, DMO, announcement yesterday.
This means that in the last five years under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, Nigeria’s public debt rose by a whopping N18.89 trillion.
As at the end of June 2015, one month after the present All Progressives Congress, APC, government came into power, the country’s public debt profile stood at N12.12 trillion; this means that within a period of five years, the nation’s debt profile rose by N18.89 trillion.
It also means that the country’s debt profile has risen by 155.86 percent within the five-year period of the President Muhammadu Buhari government, with little or nothing to show for it nationwide.
Nigeria’s total public debt stock includes the debt stock of the Federal Government, the 36 States, and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
However, most of the debts were contracted by the Federal Government.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, had on Tuesday, released some data showing that the Federal Government’s component of the country’s debt stood at N24.52 trillion, as at March 31.
A statement issued by the DMO, on Wednesday, indicated that the debt increased by N2.38 trillion, within a space of three months.
For the country’s public debt stock as at June 30, 2020, the DMO said: “The data shows that in naira terms, the total public debt stock, which comprises of the debt stock of the Federal Government, the 36 State Governments, and the FCT, stood at N31.009 trillion or $85.897 billion.
“The corresponding figures for March 31, 202,0 were N28.628 trillion or $79.303 billion.”
The Debt Office explained that the increase in the debt stock by N2.381 trillion or $6.59 billion, was accounted for by the $3.36 billion budget support loan from the International Monetary Fund, IMF, and new domestic borrowing to finance the revised 2020 Appropriation Act.
It said that this includes the issuance of the N162.56 billion Sukuk and promissory notes issued to settle claims of exporters.
The Debt Office said: “The DMO expects the public debt stock to grow as the balance of the new domestic borrowing is raised and expected disbursements are made by the World Bank, African Development Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank, which were arranged to finance the 2020 Budget.
“Recall, that the 2020 Appropriation Act had to be revised in the face of the adverse and severe impact of Covid-19 on government’s revenues and increased expenditure needs on health and economic stimulus, among others.”
It stated that additional promissory notes were expected to be issued in the course of the year.
This and new borrowings by State Governments, were also expected to increase the public debt stock, the DMO explained.
A breakdown of the country’s total debt showed that the external component amounted to N11.36 trillion or 36.65 percent of the total debt.
This leaves N19.65 trillion or 63.35 percent of the country’s debt portfolio as the domestic component.
The external debt commitment of the Federal Government alone stood at N9.82 trillion or 31.68 percent of the total debt profile.
On the other hand, the external debt commitment of the States and the FCT, stood at N1.54 trillion or 4.96 percent of the total debt commitment.
The domestic debt of the Federal Government only stood at N15.46 trillion or 49.84 percent of the national total debt.
The States and the FCT, on the other hand, owe domestic debt of N4.19 trillion. This is equivalent of the 13.51 percent of the nation’s total debt commitment.
On the whole, the Federal Government owe N25.28 trillion, while the sub-national governments owe N5.73 trillion.
In proportional terms, the Federal Government holds 81.52 percent of the nation’s total public debt, while the sub-national governments hold 18.48 percent of the country’s total debt.