Nigeria’s public debt climbs to N142.32trn – DMO
Agency Report
Nigeria’s total public debt increased to N142.319 trillion ($88.892 billion) as of September 30, 2024 according to data from Debt Management Office (DMO).
The amount represents an increase of 5.97 per cent from N134.3 trillion reported in June last year.
The increase reflected the impact of naira depreciation, which inflated the cost of external debt when converted to local currency.
External debt, measured in dollar terms, rose marginally by 0.29 per cent, from $42.90 billion in June to $43.03 billion in September.
However, in naira terms, external debt went up by 9.22 per cent, rising from N63.07 trillion to N68.89 trillion during the same period.
This increase was driven by a weaker naira, which depreciated from N1,470.19 to a dollar to N1,601.03 per dollar by the end of third quarter 2024.
Conversely, domestic debt fell by 5.34 per cent in dollar terms, declining from $48.45 billion to $45.87 billion. Yet, in naira terms, it rose 3.10 per cent, from N71.22 trillion to N73.43 trillion.
A breakdown of the debt components indicated that the Federal Government’s external debt rose to $38.12 billion in September from $38.01 billion in June, while state and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) external obligations grew up to $4.91 billion from $4.89 billion.
On the domestic front, Federal Government debt increased to N69.22 trillion from N66.96 trillion. State and FCT domestic obligations recorded a slight dip to N4.212 trillion from N4.27 trillion.
The naira’s depreciation also impacted the broader debt-to-revenue ratio, raising concerns about the sustainability of Nigeria’s borrowing strategy.
However, Federal Government bonds, the largest component of domestic debt, rose by 4.47 per cent to N54.65 trillion, representing 78.95 per cent of the total domestic debt stock.
The introduction of Nigeria’s first domestic dollar-denominated bond, valued at N1.47 trillion, contributed significantly to this rise while the $500 million bond was oversubscribed by 180 per cent, underscoring growing investor confidence.
Meanwhile, T-Bills declined marginally by 0.66 per cent, reflecting efforts to moderate short-term borrowing.
Promissory notes, another critical component, grew by 5.80 per cent to N1.77 trillion, while FGN Sukuk—a key infrastructure funding tool—declined by 9.14 per cent to N992.56 billion.
