- Nigeria’s public debt increased to N142.3 trillion as of September 2024
- The debt is owed by the federal and state governments and the Federal Capital Territory
- An analysis shows Nigeria’s domestic debt fell in dollar terms but increased in naira terms
Nigeria’s total public debt increased to N142.3 trillion as of September 30, 2024, a 5.97 per cent (N8.02 trillion) increase compared to N134.3 trillion recorded in June 2024.
In dollar terms, Nigeria’s total public debt declined by 2.70 per cent, from $91.35 billion in June to $88.89 billion in September 2024.
According to data from the Debt Management Office (DMO), the debt stock comprises external and domestic obligations.
The DMO said external debt increased by 0.29 per cent in dollar terms from $42.90 billion in June to $43.03 billion in September 2024.
In naira terms, external debt rose by 9.22 per cent from N63.07 trillion in June to N68.89 trillion in September 2024.
The increase was attributed to the depreciation of the naira, which declined from N1,470.19/$ in June to over N1,600/$ by the end of September.
Domestic debt in dollar and naira terms
Analysis of the data shows that domestic debt reduced by 5.34 per cent in dollar terms from $48.45 billion in June to $45.87 billion in September 2024.
However, domestic debt increased by 3.10 per cent in naira terms from N71.22 trillion to N73.43 trillion during the period.
Analysis of debt between federal and state governments
The DMO data further shows that the Federal Government’s external debt stood at $38.12 billion in September, rising from $38.01 billion in June.
On the other hand, external debt owed by states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) stood at $4.91 billion in September 2024 from $4.89 billion in June.
The Federal Government’s domestic debt obligations increased from N66.96 trillion to N69.22 trillion, while states and the FCT’s reduced from N4.27 trillion to N4.21 trillion.
FG’s domestic debt is driven by bond issuances
The increase in the Federal Government’s domestic debt stock of N69.22 trillion as of September 30, 2024, was largely driven by increased issuance of Federal Government bonds and a rise in promissory notes.
This shows the increasing government’s reliance on domestic borrowing to meet its fiscal obligations.
As analysed by debt by instruments, the Federal Government bonds remained the largest component as it rose by 4.47 per cent to N54.65 trillion in September from N52.32 trillion in June.
Federal Government’s bonds represent 78.95 per cent of the total domestic debt stock, an increase from 78.13 per cent in the previous quarter.
The majority of the bond increases are from naira-dominated bonds as the dollar-denominated bond was newly introduced to the domestic debt stock at N1.47 trillion.
Recall that Nigeria launched its first-ever domestic dollar-denominated bond in September 2024, which saw over $900 million in subscriptions.
The five-year $500 million bond, coordinated by the Africa Finance Corporation, was issued at par with a 9.75 per cent annual coupon and saw a 180 per cent subscription.
Nigeria’s external debt rose by N22.77trn within 10 months of Tinubu’s administration
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that as of March 2024, Nigeria’s external debt stood at N56.02 trillion, a N22.77 trillion increase from the N33.25 trillion it was at the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
According to data from the Debt Management Office (DMO), aggregated and posted by StatiSense on X (formerly Twitter) on August 30, the figure was achieved in just 10 months of President Bola Tinubu's administration.
