Nigeria’s total public debt climbed to over N38.005 trillion at the end of the third quarter of the year, the Debt Management Office (DMO) confirmed on Tuesday.
The debt management agency said the latest data as of September 30, 2021, showed the figure grew from N35.5 trillion, or $86.57 billion as of June 30, to N38.005 trillion, or $92.626 billion.
This consisted of consists of the total external and domestic debts of the Federal Government, the 36 State Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The DMO explained that the increase of about N2.54 trillion was largely accounted for by the $4billion Eurobonds issued by the Government in September 2021.
“The issuance of the Eurobonds brought significant benefits to the economy by increasing the level of Nigeria’s External Reserves, thereby supporting the Naira Exchange Rate and providing the necessary capital to enable the Federal Government finance various projects in the Budget.
“The triple tranche $4 billion Eurobond, issued in September 2021, was for the implementation of the New External Borrowing of $6.18 billion in the 2021 Appropriation Act.
Details of the June 30, 2021 debt profile showed total external debt at about N13.7 trillion, or $33.469 billion (38.66% of total); N11.846 trillion, or N28.916 billion, and N1.865 trillion, $4.553 billion (5.26%).
In terms of domestic debt, the DMO showed that the Federal Government had the lion’s share of N17.63 trillion (about $43.04 billion) -49.72%, while States and the FCT had N4.122 trillion of N10.062 billion (11.62 percent.
