Nigeria’s debt stock is being driven by high indebtedness of some states in Nigeria which contribute to the country’s burgeoning debt profile A recent data released by the debt management office says three states in Nigeria drive the country’s domestic debt stock
The states of Lagos, Ogun and Rivers State are biggest debtors while states like Cross River, Bayelsa and Oyo states are the least indebted
The total domestic debt stock of the 36 states in Nigeria, including Abuja, hit N4.84 trillion in the first quarter of 2022, which is an increase of 8.6 per cent in comparison to N4.46 trillion recorded in the previous quarter.
Data from the Debt Management Office (DMO), says on a year-on-year basis, the debt stocks of the various states spiked by 17.5 per cent compared to N4.12 trillion recorded in the same period last year.
Lagos, Ogun and Rivers carry the highest debt burden The data from the DMO shows that Lagos, Ogun and Rivers states are the top debtors with the highest domestic debt stock as of March 2022, which cumulatively accounts for 26 per cent of their domestic debt profile, according to Nairametrics.
The country’s total debt increased by N2.05 trillion in the first quarter of 2022 from N39.56 trillion recorded as of December 2021 to stand at N41.6 trillion.
Lagos State owes N780.48 billion in domestic debt as of March 2022, which accounts for 16.1 per cent of the entire domestic debt of the entire state.
Her neighbour, Ogun State, came second with N241.98 billion in total domestic debt stock which represents 6.1 per cent of the total debts.
Rivers State came third with N225.51 billion in domestic debt, while Imo State owe N204.62 billion, Akwa Ibom N203.11 billion.
Others are Delta State with N163.48 billion, Cross River, with N158.93 billion, Plateau with N152.1 billion; Bayelsa with N151.41 billion and Oyo State with N141.19 billion.
The DMO in a release said that while total debt to GDP stands at 23.27 per cent and is below the country’s target of 40 per cent, the speed by which government should grow and diversify revenues should be a top priority.
Nigerian Government Spends N41.9 billion on debt servicing in January alone
businessdaily.ng reported that Nigeria’s monthly debt servicing increased by $31.46 million in one month to $101.29 million in January, according to figures released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
The Punch report shows a 45 per cent jump month-on-month. The CBN said in its data on debt service repayment that the federal government spent about $69.83 on debt service repayment in December.
