The Debt Management Office (DMO) says Nigeria’s total public debt stock hit ₦121.67 trillion (91.46 billion dollars) in March.
The Director-General of the DMO, Patience Oniha, made this known in a statement on Friday in Abuja. Oniha said that the debt stock comprised the total external and domestic debts of the Federal Government, the 36 state governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to her, the total domestic debt, as of March, was ₦65.65 trillion (46.29 dollars), while the total external debt was ₦56.02 trillion (42.12 billion dollars). She said that the comparative figure of the total debt stock for December 2023 was ₦97.34 trillion (108.23 billion dollars).
She said that the increase in the total debt stock was informed by growth in the domestic component of the debt to bridge the deficit in the 2024 budget, and instability in the foreign exchange market during the first quarter.
“Excluding Naira exchange rate movements in the first quarter of 2024, only the domestic debt component of the total debt stock grew from ₦59.12 trillion on December 31, 2023 to ₦65.75 trillion on March 31.
“The increase was from new borrowing to part-finance the 2024 budget deficit and securitisation of a portion of the ₦7.3 trillion Ways and Means advances at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” she said.
She said that improvement in government revenue would go a long way in ensuring debt sustainability, while borrowing, as provided in the 2024 budget would continue.