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Tag: Public Debt

  • Nigeria’s public debt stock increases to N97.34trn in Q4 2023 – NBS

    Nigeria’s public debt stock increases to N97.34trn in Q4 2023 – NBS

    Nigeria’s public debt stock increased from N87.91 trillion (114.35 billion dollars ) in the third quarter of 2023 to N97.34 trillion (108.23 billion dollars ) in the fourth quarter of 2023.

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said this on Tuesday in its Nigerian Domestic and Foreign Debt Report for Q4 2023 released in Abuja.

    The report said Nigeria’s public debt stock, which included external and domestic debt, grew by 10.73 per cent on a quarter on quarter basis.

    It said that External debt stood at N38.22 trillion (42.50 billion dollars) in Q4 2023, while domestic debt was N59.12 trillion (65.73 billion dollars).

    “However, the share of external debt to total public debt stood at 39.26 per cent in Q4 2023, while domestic debt was recorded at 60.74 per cent.’’

    In a breakdown by states, the bureau said that Lagos State recorded the highest domestic debt of N1.05 trillion in Q4 2023, followed by Delta with N373.41 billion.

    The report showed Jigawa recorded the lowest domestic debt at N42.76 billion, followed by Kebbi at N60.69 billion.

    In addition, it stated that Lagos state recorded the highest external debt with 1.24 billion dollars , followed by Kaduna state with 587.07 million dollars.

    “Borno recorded the lowest external debt with 20.49 million dollars , followed by Yobe with 21.49 million dollars,” the NBS stated.

  • Nigeria’s public debt hits N97 trillion

    Nigeria’s public debt hits N97 trillion

    Nigeria’s public debt stock as at Dec. 31, 2023 was N97.341 trillion (108.229 billion dollars),  according to data released by the Debt Management Office (DMO) on Friday in Abuja.

    The DMO said that the amount comprised domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government, the 36 states governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The debt office said that there was an increase of N9.43 trillion over the comparative figure for Sept. 30, 2023.

    It said that the increase was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the Federal Government to part – finance the deficit in the 2024 budget, and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.

    “At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 per cent of the total public debt stock, while external debt at N38.22trillion accounted for the balance of 39 per cent,” it said.

    The DMO said that the country’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral and bilateral lenders.

    The debt office said the move was consistent with the country’s debt management strategy.

    It said that loans from multilateral sources constituted 49.77 per cent of the country’s external debt stock, while loans from bilateral sources constituted 16.02 per cent.

    “That is a total of 63.79 per cent, mostly concessional and semi-concessional loans.

    “Whilst the DMO continues to employ best practice in public debt management, the recent and on-going efforts of the authorities to shore up revenue will support debt sustainability,” it said.

  • Nigeria’s $1.5B World Bank loan spark concerns

    Nigeria’s $1.5B World Bank loan spark concerns

    A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and presidential aspirant under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Kingsley Moghalu, has raised concern over Nigeria’s plan to borrow $1.5 billion from the World Bank.

    As part of the government’s efforts to address the fiscal gap in the 2023 budget, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Wale Edun, confirmed plans to secure a $1.5 billion loan from the World Bank.

    “On the talks with the World Bank on $1.5 billion budget support, that is correct. The World Bank is the number one multilateral development bank helping developing countries or funding developing countries, projects and programmes, and sectors,” Edun said, adding “the World Bank money is the cheapest”.

    The minister pointed out that the country has taken bold and courageous steps to attract investments and that Nigeria was now top consideration when people are looking at where to invest.

    “Nigeria is definitely on the right path; we have taken the right decision for the economy to recover and for it to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),” he added.

    But Moghalu criticized the increasing borrowing trend while high-value purchases, like SUVs worth N160 million each for 360 House of Representatives members, are being considered and called for prudent management of the countries finances.

    He said if he were President, government officials would not use public funds to buy foreign-made vehicles for official purposes when suitable local options are available.

    His words: “If I were President of Nigeria or Governor of a State, no government official will drive a foreign made vehicle at government expense (procurement) when we have local alternatives.

    “That is one demonstration of patriotic leadership and commitment to cutting the cost of governance. Anyone can order whatever vehicle they want with their personal funds, but official vehicles? No.

    “There is a real problem when Nigeria is set to borrow another $1.5 billion from @WorldBank for budget support, and SUVs worth N160 million each are reportedly to be bought for 360 members of the House of Representatives. We are not yet serious as a country. Nigeria is becoming a carcass, and our political class its scavengers!”

  • Nigeria’s public debt stock increases to N87.38 trillion

    Nigeria’s public debt stock increases to N87.38 trillion

    Nigeria’s public debt stock increased from N49.85 trillion (108.30 billion dollars ) in the first quarter of 2023 to N87.38 trillion (113.42 billion dollars ) in the second quarter of 2023.

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said this on Friday in its Nigerian Domestic and Foreign Debt Report for Q2 2023 released in Abuja.

    The report said Nigeria’s public debt stock which included external and domestic debt, grew by 75.27 per cent in Q2 of 2023

    It said that External debt stood at N33.25 trillion (43.16 billion dollars) in Q2 2023, while domestic debt was N54.13 trillion (70.26billion dollars).

    “However, the share of external debt to total public debt stood at 38.05 per cent in Q2 2023, while domestic debt was recorded at 61.95 per cent.’’

    In a breakdown by states, the bureau said that Lagos State recorded the highest domestic debt of N996.44 billion in Q2 2023, followed by Delta at N465.40 billion.

    The report showed Jigawa recorded the lowest domestic debt at N43.13 billion, followed by Kebbi at N60.94 billion.

    In addition,  it stated that Lagos state recorded the highest external debt with 1.26 billion dollars , followed by Kaduna state with 569.38 million dollars.

    “Borno recorded the lowest external debt with 18.75 million dollars , followed by Taraba with 21.92 million dollars,” the NBS stated.

  • Nigeria’s Public debt hits N49 trillion

    Nigeria’s Public debt hits N49 trillion

    The Debt Management Office (DMO) said the total public debt stock of Nigeria as at March was N49.95 trillion (108.30 billion dollars).

    According to a statement obtained from the DMO official website on Sunday, the total debt stock comprises the external and domestic debts of the Federal Government,  the 36 states, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The country’s total debt for the preceeding period 0f Dec. 21, 2022 was N46.25 trillion (103 billion dollars),  indicating an increase of about three trillion Naira.

    The total debt stock,  however, excludes the Federal Government’s N22.719 trillion Ways and Means Advances of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),  whose securitisation was approved by the National Assembly in May.

    According to the DMO, the Ways and Means will be included in the debt stock of the Federal Government from June.

    Meanwhile,  the DMO recently released the Market Access Country-Debt Sustainability Analysis (MAC-DSA) to promote transparency.

    The MAC-DSA is a World Bank/IMF tool for best practices in public debt management,  which the DMO adopted and has implemented over the years.

    According to the DMO,  it is an annual exercise anchored by it, with the participation of key Federal Government agencies.

    It listed such agencies to include the CBN,  Budget Office of the Federation and Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF).

    Others are the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Federal Ministry of Finance,  Budget and National Planning.

    According to Patience Oniha,  Director-General of the  DMO,  the recent DSA reports highlighted the need for more revenues to keep the public debt sustainable.

    Oniha said that the recently released DSA report,  which was for 2022, also emphasised the need for the government to grow revenues.

    She commended some of the recent policies of the present administration as capable of enhancing debt sustainability.

    “Policies like the removal of subsidies to manage expenditure and the focus on revenue through the appointment of a Special Adviser to the President on Revenue were positive steps for public debt sustainability, ” Oniha said.

  • Africa’s slow economic growth insufficient to reduce extreme poverty – World Bank

    Africa’s slow economic growth insufficient to reduce extreme poverty – World Bank

    The growth recovery in Nigeria for 2023 is still fragile as oil production remains subdued and the new administration faces many policy challenges.

    A new world bank report has revealed that Sub-Saharan Africa faces a myriad of challenges to regain its growth momentum, including the protracted slowdown of growth of investment in the region, which limits its efforts to reduce extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity in the medium to long term.

    The April 2023 edition of the World Bank Africa’s Pulse data report showed that growth across Sub-Saharan Africa remained sluggish as a result of “uncertainty in the global economy, the underperformance of the continent’s largest economies, high inflation, and a sharp deceleration of investment growth”.

    This outlook poses challenges to policy makers in the region who seek to accelerate the post-pandemic recovery, reduce poverty, and put the economy on a sustainable growth path.

    Economic growth slowed to 3.6 per cent in 2022, from 4.1 per cent in 2021 and economic activity in the region is projected to further slow down to 3.1 per cent in 2023, a 0.4 percentage point downward revision compared to the October 2022 Africa’s Pulse forecast.

    “Growth is estimated to pick up to 3.7 and 3.9 per cent in 2024 and 2025, respectively – thus signalling that the slowdown in growth should be bottoming out this year,” the report said.

    A rebound of global growth later this year, easing of austerity measures, and more accommodative monetary policy amid falling inflation are the main factors contributing to the increased growth along the forecast horizon.

    The report noted that the growth recovery in Nigeria for 2023 (2.8 per cent) was still fragile as oil production remained subdued and the new administration faces many policy challenges.

    Inflation remains persistently high and above target and will continue to weigh on economic activity; consumer price inflation in Sub-Saharan Africa accelerated sharply and hit a 14-year record high in 2022 (9.2 per cent), fueled by rising food and energy prices as well as weaker currencies.

    Climate shocks, especially in the Horn of Africa, add inflationary pressures from the supply side and the number of countries with two-digit average annual rates of inflation increased from 9 in 2021 to 21 in 2022.

    Public debt in Sub-Saharan Africa has more than tripled since 2010, with a sharp increase prior to the onset of the COVID-19 crisis.

    According to the report, the surge in public debt has been accompanied by a shift in its composition toward domestic debt—particularly, to meet pandemic-related financing needs and domestic debt accounted for nearly half of the outstanding public debt by the end of 2021.

    “Fiscal dominance and foreign exchange rate restrictions may lead to inflation outcomes that are contrary to what monetary tightening intends.

    “In Sub-Saharan Africa, curbing inflation remains essential to boost people’s incomes and reduce uncertainty around consumption and investment plans,” the report said.

    Therefore, it recommended that policies to fight against inflation should be complemented by income support measures (via cash or food transfers) to protect the most vulnerable from stubbornly high inflation—particularly, food inflation.

    It added that African governments must sharpen their focus on macroeconomic stability, domestic revenue mobilisation, debt reduction, and productive investments in the face of dampened growth prospects and rising debt levels.

    “In a time of energy transition and rising demand for metals and minerals, resource-rich governments have an opportunity to better leverage natural resources to finance their public programs, diversify their economy, and expand energy access.

    “Africa’s natural resource wealth holds significant untapped economic potential. About one-third of the total stock of wealth in Sub-Saharan Africa is held in various forms of natural capital, including renewable natural capital like cropland, water resources, and forests, as well as nonrenewable subsoil assets.”

    The region’s nonrenewable petroleum and mineral deposits reached more than US$5 trillion in value during the boom years (2004–14) and Sub-Saharan Africa has seen more major petroleum discoveries since 2000 than any other region in the world.

  • Nigeria’s public debt shoots to N39 trillion

    Nigeria’s public debt shoots to N39 trillion

    The Debt Management Office (DMO), says Nigeria’s public debt as at December, 2021 is N39.55 trillion.

    Patience Oniha, the Director-General of the DMO, said this on Thursday, while addressing newsmen on the country’s debt situation.

    Oniha said that the amount represented the total external and domestic debts of the Federal Government, 36 state governments as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Recall that DMO had earlier revealed that the country’s debt stock as at September 2021, was N38 trillion.

    She said that the increased public debt included new borrowings by both the Federal Government and state governments.

    “For the Federal Government, it would be recalled that the 2021 Appropriation and Supplementary Acts included total new borrowings of N5.48 trillion
    to part-finance the deficits.

    “Borrowing for this purpose, and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral creditors account for a significant portion of the increase in the debt stock, ” she said.

    Oniha said that the new borrowings were raised from diverse sources, which included issuance of Eurobonds, Sovereign Sukuk and Federal Government of Nigeria Bonds.

    “These Capital raisings were utilised to finance capital projects and support economic recovery,’’ she said.

    According to Oniha, the country’s debt situation is within reasonable limits.

    She, however, said that the Federal Government had taken concrete steps to address revenue challenges which made servicing of the debts burdensome.

    “With the total Public Debt-to-Gross Domestic Product ratio of 22.47 per cent, the debt 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 (IMF) for countries in Nigeria’s peer group.

    “The Federal Government is mindful of the relatively high Debt-to-Revenue ratio and has initiated various measures.

    “The measures are to increase revenue through the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative and the introduction of Finance Acts since 2019,’’ she said.

  • Nigeria public debt stands at N26.2 trillion – DMO

    The Debt Management Office (DMO) says the total public debt as at September 2019 stood at N26.215 trillion.

    The Director-General of DMO, Ms Patience Oniha, made this known during a presentation of Public Debt Data as at September 30, 2019 in Abuja on Friday.

    Oniha explained that the debt comprised the Federal Government and 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory’s debts within the period.

    She said that the comparative figure for June 2019 was N25.701 trillion which implied that in the quarter July to September 2019, the total public debt grew by 2.0 per cent.

    She said that the total public debt as at September 2019 included promissory notes in the tune of N821.651 billion, which she said, were issued to settle the Federal Government’s arrears to oil marketing companies and state governments.

    The director general said that the 2019 Appropriation Act provided for a total new borrowing of N1.605 trillion split equally between domestic and external, adding that only the domestic component of N802.82 billion was raised due to the late passage of 2019 budget.

    “Among the highlight of the DMO’s achievements for 2019 was the issuance of a 30-year bond for the first time.

    “The introduction of 30-year bond was to meet the investment needs of long-term investors such as insurance companies and support the development of domestic financial markets in areas such as mortgages” she said.

    According to her, from the Federal Government’s perspective, the 30-year bond also contributed to reducing the refinancing risks of the public debt stock.

    Oniha stated that the borrowing was to finance specific projects and activities of the government as well as to finance deficit budget.

    She further explained that due process, which involved the executive and legislature, was followed.

    The DMO, however, expressed regret that the discussion around the debt was politically motivated.

  • Nigeria’s total Public Debt hits N22.38tr – DMO

    The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Tuesday, disclosed that as at June 30, 2018, the nation’s Public Debt comprises Domestic and External Debt Stock of the Federal and 36 State Governments and the Federal Capital Territory, stood at N22.38 trillion or $73.21 billion.

    Addressing newsmen in Abuja, the debt office explained that this figure was a marginal increase of 3.01 percent over the Public Debt Stock for December 2017.

    It said the increase in the Public Debt Stock over the 6 months period was due largely to the $2.5 billion Eurobond issued in February 2018.

    However, it emphasised that when compared with the Debt Data for March 2018, the Public Debt Stock actually decreased by 1.44 percent from N22.707 trillion in March 2018 to N22.38 trillion in June 2018.

    The DMO pointed out that the decrease was due to a 3.38 percent decline in the FGN’s Domestic Debt Stock between March and June 2018.

    There were however marginal increases of 0.07 percent in the External Debt Stock and 2.75 percent in the Domestic Debt of States.

    A major highlight in the Public Debt Data was the consistent decrease in the FGN’s Domestic Debt which declined from N12.589 trillion in December 2017 to N12.577 trillion in March 2017 and N12.151 trillion in June 2018.

    According to the DMO, this reduction in the FGN’s Domestic Debt Stock arose from the redemption of N198 billion Nigerian Treasury Bills in December 2017 and another N639 billion between January and June 2018.

    It will be recalled that a total of $3 billion was raised through Eurobonds to refinance maturing domestic debt as part of the implementation of the debt management strategy for the purpose of substituting high cost Domestic Debt with lower cost external debt to reduce Debt Service Costs for the government.

    It should be noted that the implementation of the Public Debt Management Strategy whose overall objective is to ensure that Nigeria’s debt is sustainable, is already yielding positive results. One of the beneficial outcomes is the rebalancing of the Debt Stock; the Ratio of Domestic Debt to External Debt inching towards the target of 60:40 and the target of 75:25 between Long Term Domestic Debt and Short Term Domestic Debt.

    According to the figures for June 30, 2018 released by the DMO, the Ratio between Domestic and External Debt stood at 70:30 compared to 73:27 in December 2017.

    Similarly, the Ratio between Long Term Domestic Debt to Short Term Domestic Debt was 76:24 in June 2018 compared to 72:28 in December 2017.

    Thus, the DMO’s activities have resulted in lower interest rates for the Benchmark FGN Securities from about 18.5 percent in January 2017 to 11-14 percent in the first half of 2018.

    Also, with the redemption of about N840 billion of Nigerian Treasury Bills more funds were available for lending by banks to the private sector. External capital raising activities also contributed to the increase in external reserves.