However, according to DMO data, Nigeria spent N2.93 trillion on debt servicing payments in 2021.
The Debt Management Office on Thursday said Nigeria’s total public debt stock increased to N39.56 trillion in 2021 from N32.92 trillion in 2020.
The Director-General, DMO, Patience Oniha, disclosed this at a media briefing in Abuja.
She said the total debt includes new borrowings by the Nigerian Government, 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
“Nigeria’s total public debt as at December 31, 2021, was N39.56 trillion or $95.78 billion. The amount represents the total external and domestic debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, 36 state governments and the federal capital territory.
“The comparable figure for December 31, 2020, was N32.92 trillion or $86.39 billion. 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 N5.49 trillion to part-finance the deficit.
“Borrowings for this purpose and disbursements by the multilateral and bilateral 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.”
She, however, added that Nigeria is still within the total public debt stock to the Gross Domestic Product limit of 55 per cent set by the World Bank and 70 per cent set by the Economic Community of West African States.
Nigerian government has established certain measures to increase revenues through the strategic revenue growth initiative and the introduction of Finance Acts since 2019, she added.
She said, “The new borrowings were raised from diverse sources, primarily through the issuances of the Eurobonds, sovereign Sukuk, and the FGN bonds. These capital raisings were utilised to finance capital projects and support economic recovery.
“With the total public debt stock to GDP as at December 31, 2021, of 22.47 per cent, the debt-to-GDP ratio still remains within Nigeria’s self-imposed limit of 40 per cent. This ratio is prudent when compared to the 55 per cent limit advised by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for countries in Nigeria’s peer group, as well as, the ECOWAS convergence ratio of 70 per cent.”
However, according to DMO data, Nigeria spent N2.93 trillion on debt servicing payments in 2021.
The country spent N612. 71 billion between January and March 2021 on domestic debt servicing, and spent $1 billion (N415.92 billion) on external debt servicing, giving a total of N1.03 trillion.
From April to June 2021, the country spent N322.7 billion on domestic debt servicing and $299 million (N124.36 billion) on external debt servicing, showing a total of N447.06 billion.
From July to September 2021, Nigeria spent N808.49 billion on domestic debt servicing and $520.78 million (N216.6 billion) on external debt servicing, giving a total of N1.03 trillion.
Between October and December 2021, Nigeria spent N310.5 billion on domestic debt servicing, while it spent $286.35 million (N119.1 billion) on external debt servicing, giving a total of N429.6 billion.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly approved in December 2020 approved the government's 2021 budget of N13.6 trillion ($35.66 billion), assuming 3% annual economic growth, oil prices of $40 a barrel and 1.86 million barrels a day of crude production.
Therefore, for 2021, Nigeria spent about 21.5 percent of its budget for the year on debt servicing.