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From Uche Usim, Abuja
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Thursday disclosed that Nigeria’s total debt as of December 31, 2021, has risen to N39.556 trillion ($95.779 billion), from N32.915 trillion it was on December 31, 2020 ($86.392 billion).
The amount represents the total external and domestic Debt of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), 36 State Governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha who made the disclosure in a media briefing explained that the public debt stock for December 31, 2021, includes new borrowings by the FGN and the sub-nationals.
“For the FGN, it would be recalled that the 2021 Appropriation and Supplementary Acts included total new borrowings (from domestic and external sources) of N5.489 trillion to partly finance the deficit. Borrowings for this purpose and disbursements by multilateral and bi-lateral creditors account for a significant portion of the increase in the debt stock. Increases were also recorded in the debt stock of the States and the FCT.
“The new borrowings were raised from diverse sources, primarily through the issuances of the Eurobonds, Sovereign Sukuk and FGN Bonds. These capital raisings were utilized to finance capital projects and support economic recovery,” she said.
Oniha added that total public debt stock to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as at December 31, 2021, stood at 22.47%. She added that the Debt-to-GDP ratio still remains within Nigeria’s self-imposed limit of 40%.
“This ratio is prudent when compared to the 55% limit advised by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for countries in Nigeria’s peer group, as well as, the ECOWAS Convergence Ratio of 70%.
“The Federal Government is mindful of the relatively high Debt-to-Revenue Ratio and has initiated various measures to increase revenues through the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative and the introduction of Finance Acts since 2019”, she added.
Oniha further noted that the revenue-generating agencies need to be more prudent in spending so as to free money for the federal government to meet various needs.
“We make it look like borrowing is a crime and we give it the toga it doesn’t deserve.
We’ve seen debt levels rising not only in Nigeria but all over. COVID-19 is a result of the upward trajectory.
“All governments borrow. But we need to increase revenue generation,” she added.
