DMO Confirms Nigeria’s Debt Profile Hits N41.60trn Q1 2022

By Linda Ike

The Director General of Debt Management Office (DMO) Patience Oniha said Nigeria’s debt profile stands at N41.601 as of March 2022.

Oniha disclosed this on Thursday during the ongoing hearing on the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Policy Paper (FSP), by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance.

She said, the debt stock stood at 32.92 percent as at December 2020 and rose to 39.55 percent in December 31, 2021.

The DG who responded to a question on the actual debt stock for the Federal and subnational Governments, confirmed that 85 percent of the total debt stock is owed by the Federal Government while about 15 percent is owed by the State Governments and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Oniha charged the Lawmakers to query the 2023 budget proposal in the bid to reduce the debt rate.

She noted that the country’s dependence on borrowing was due to low revenue generation and deficit budget spanning several years.