New data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) indicates a slight uptick in Nigeria’s total public debt, amounting to a record N87.91 trillion in the third quarter of 2023.
The new figure represents a marginal 0.61 per cent increase from the previous quarter’s figure of N87.38 trillion.
The external debt accounted for N31.98 trillion, while the domestic debt stood at N55.93 trillion during the period under review.
The DMO highlighted that the rise in the overall debt stock was influenced by a decline in external debt, decreasing from $43.16 billion to $41.59 billion between June 30, 2023, and September 30, 2023.
Meanwhile, domestic debt recorded a relatively moderate increase of N1.8 trillion.
This decrease in external debt was attributed to the redemption of a $500 million Eurobond and an initial payment of $413.859 million as part of the principal repayment on a $3.4 billion loan acquired from the International Monetary Fund during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The DMO emphasized that consistently servicing the debts underlined the Federal Government’s commitment to meeting its financial obligations.
