DMO reveals Nigeria’s total public debt hit N87.38tn for Q2 2023

At the conclusion of the second quarter of 2023, the Debt Management Office estimates that Nigeria’s total public debt will be N87.38 trillion.

The amount is up 75.29 percent, or N37.53 trillion, from the N49.85 trillion recorded at the end of March 2023.

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The DMO in a report on Thursday said the debt includes the N22.71tn Ways and Means Advances of the Central Bank of Nigeria to the Federal Government.

The DMO stated, “Nigeria’s total public debt stock as at June 30, 2023, was N87.38tn ($113.42bn). It comprises the total domestic and external debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the thirty-six states, and the Federal Capital Territory.

“The major addition to the Public Debt Stock was the inclusion of the N22.712tn securitized FGN’s Ways and Means Advances.”

The statement also noted that other additions to the debt stock were new borrowings by the Federal Government and the sub-nationals from local and external sources.

It added, “The reforms already introduced by the present administration and those that may emerge from the recommendations of the Fiscal Reform and Tax Policies Committee, are expected to impact debt strategy and improve debt sustainability.”

The DMO had earlier projected that Nigeria’s public debt burden may hit N77tn following the National Assembly’s approval of the request by former President Muhammadu Buhari to restructure the CBN’s Ways and Means Advances.

The Ways and Means Advances is a loan facility through which the CBN finances the shortfalls in the government’s budget.

During a public budget presentation for 2023 that was held by the previous Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Ahmed, the Director-General of the DMO, Patience Oniha, noted that the debt would be N70 trillion without N5 trillion in fresh borrowing and N2 trillion in promissory notes.

However, according to the most recent data, the DMO’s prediction was N10.38 trillion lower than the current debt stock of N87.38 trillion.

Further analysis revealed that Nigeria has a total external debt of N33.25 trillion and a total internal debt of N54.13 trillion.