Nigeria’s total public debt stock, external and domestic borrowing, rose marginally by 0.61% quarter-on-quarter to N87.91 trillion in the third quarter of 2023.
The figure should rise from N87.38 trillion total debt stock recorded in Q2 of 2023.
Debt Management Office, DMO in a statement on Wednesday, disclosed that the country’s total external debt stood at N31.98 trillion, and domestic debt amounted to N55.93 trillion in the period under review.
“At N87.91 trillion, the total public debt stock represents a marginal increase of 0.61 per cent compared to the June 30, 2023 figure of N87.38 trillion. This trend is explained by the decrease in external debt from $43.16bn as of June 30, 2023, to $41.59bn as of September 30, 2023, and a relatively moderate increase of N1.8 trillion in domestic debt.
“External debt decreased due to a redemption of a $500m Eurobond and the payment of $413.859m as the first principal payment of the $3.4bn loan obtained from the International Monetary Fund in 2020 during Covid-19.”
DMO noted that servicing these debts denotes a clear demonstration of the Federal Government’s commitment to honour its debt obligations.
