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Nigeria’s Domestic Debt Grew By N458 Billion In 3 Months, Says Debt Management Office

On the total composition of the country’s debt stock, the debt office says the country’s borrowings soared by 2.3 per cent from N24.39 trillion on December 31, 2018 to N24.95 trillion on March 31, 2019.

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The Debt Management Office (DMO) says Nigeria’s domestic debt grew by N458.36 billion between December 31, 2018 and March 31 2019.

The DMO has repeatedly stated that it intended to reduce domestic borrowing to 60 percent from previous highs of 80 percent, as locally sourced loans are more expensive to service than foreign obtained funds.

The release, on Wednesday, by the DMO noted that the ratio of local to international debts currently stands at 68.49 percent to 31.51 percent.

“In relation to the debt management strategy, the ratio of domestic to external debt stood at 68.49 percent to 31.51 percent at the end of March. The total public debt to Gross Domestic Product ratio was 19.03 per cent which is within the 25 per cent debt limit imposed by the government," it stated.

Nigeria pays interests of between 7 to 7.5 percent on its Euro bonds, while domestically sourced treasury bills and FGN bonds are as low as 10 percent and as high as 14 percent.

On the total composition of the country’s debt stock, the debt office says the country’s borrowings soared by 2.3 per cent from N24.39 trillion on December 31, 2018 to N24.95 trillion on March 31, 2019.

Based on DMO’s records, Anambra, Borno, Ebonyi, Ekiti and Lagos states had not borrowed monies domestically since December, while Rivers State had not sourced funds locally since September 2018.

However, Lagos State still has the highest domestic debt stock, as it owes N542.2 billion.

Four Niger Delta States— Rivers; N225.5 billion, Delta; N223.4 billion, Akwa Ibom; N199.7 billion, Cross River; N167.25 billion, come after Lagos.

Osun and the FCT are the only places not in the Niger Delta region besides Lagos owing above N100 billion.

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