The Debt Management Office (DMO) has said that Nigeria’s total public debt has surged to N121.67trillion, marking an increase of N24.33trillion or 24.99 percent over a span of three months.
The DMO’s new figure of Nigeria’s public debt contrasts with a total debt of N97.34 trillion recorded as of December 2023.
According to the revelation made by the Office in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, the current public debt figure encompasses both domestic and external debts of the Nigerian government, the 36 state governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The DMO report states, “Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N121.67 trillion (USD91.46 billion) as of March 31, 2024.
“The comparative figure for December 31, 2023, was N97.34 trillion (USD108.23 billion). Total Domestic Debt amounted to N65.65 trillion (USD46.29 billion) while Total External Debt stood at N56.02 trillion (USD42.12 billion).”
Also, on Thursday, it was reported that the government had secured loans totaling $4.95billion from the World Bank over the past 12 months, amid concerns about rising costs associated with servicing external debt.
Meanwhile, the government anticipates the approval of fresh loans amounting to $4.4 billion from both the World Bank and the African Development Bank within the coming year.