Nigeria’s Public Debt Grows by 0.61% in Three Months to N87.91 Trillion

•Eurobonds take 68.48% of FGN’s $1.39bn external debt service

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

Nigeria’s total public debt stock, including domestic and external debt obligations of the federal government, states, and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), rose to N87.91 trillion ($114.35 billion) at the end of the third quarter of the year (September), the Debt Management Office (DMO) revealed yesterday.

The increase represented a marginal rise of 0.61 per cent compared to N87.38 trillion recorded at the end of June 2023, the agency said in a statement posted on its website.

The debt management agency declared that while domestic debt increased by N1.8 trillion, the external debt component dropped from $43.16 billion to $41.59 billion at the end of the third quarter.

The federal government accounted for N50.196 trillion (N50, 196,102,866,842.30) of the total domestic debt stock during the reference period, while the 36 states of the federation and the FCT accounted for N5, 741 trillion (N5, 741, 042,103,518.56).

It said, “The total public debt as at September 30, 2023, was N87.91 trillion or $114.35 billion.

“The amount represents the Domestic and External Debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the 36 state governments, and the Federal Capital Territory.

“At N87.91 trillion, the total public debt stock represents a marginal increase of 0.61 per cent when compared to the June 30, 2023 figure of N87.38 trillion.

“This trend is explained by the decrease in external debt from USD43.16 Billion as at June 30, 2023, to $41.59 billion as at September 30, 2023, and a relatively moderate increase of N1.80 trillion in the domestic debt.”

The DMO explained that external debt decreased due to redemption of a $500 million Eurobond and payment of $413.859 million as first principal repayment of the $3.4 billion loan obtained from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2020 during Covid-19.

“The servicing of these debts, in addition to other debts, are clear demonstrations of the FGN’s commitment to honouring its debt obligations,” it stated.

Further analysis of the debt figures provided by the DMO showed that FGN’s domestic debt service between July and September stood at N1.792 trillion.

A breakdown showed that the sum of N268, 107,579,898.49 was expended to service domestic debts in July, N696, 523,269,106.22 in August, and N827, 844,770,300.42 in September.

Debt instruments accounting for the federal government’s total domestic debt stock of N50, 196,102,866,842.30 included FGN Bonds, N43,177,327,421,592.00; Nigerian Treasury Bills, N4,722,716,799,000.00; Nigerian Treasury Bonds, N25,988,000,000.00; FGN Savings Bond, N33,924,610,000.00; FGN Sukuk, N742,557,000,000.00; Green Bond, N15,000,000,000.00; and Promissory Notes, N1,478,589,036,250.26.

Analysis of Nigeria’s external debt service payments showed that commercial loans (Eurobonds) accounted for 68.48 per cent of the external debt service cost for the period between July and September, totalling $1.39 trillion ($1,390,715,426.98).  This was followed by multilateral debt service of 21.20 per cent; bilateral loans, 10.20 per cent; and Promissory Notes, 0.11 per cent.

Nigeria’s external debt stock of $41,594.52 billion was made up of multilateral debt, $20,588 billion, or 49.5 per cent of the foreign stock.

Nigeria owes IMF $2.824 billion and the World Bank Group $14,093.93 billion. This comprises the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), $488.19 million, and the International Development Association (IDA), $14,093.93 billion.

Among others, it also owes other multilateral development institutions, like the African Development Bank (AfDB), $1,643.96 billion.

China (Exim Bank of China) is Nigeria’s biggest bilateral creditor, with a debt obligation of $4,810 billion of the total bilateral debt of $5.587 billion.

Commercial loans (Eurobonds) outstanding debt stands at $15,118.35 billion, while syndicated loan obligations are $300 million.