THE Debt Management Office (DMO) in a report released on Wednesday says Nigeria’s total public debt stock is now N31.009 trillion ($85.897 Billion) as of June 30, 2020.
The press statement indicated that Nigeria’s debt stock rose from N28.628 trillion ($79.303 billion) as of March 31, 2020, to N31.009 trillion ($85.897 Billion) by June 30, 2020.
It also shows an increase in Nigeria’s total public debt stock of N2.38 trillion within a space of three months.
The figure, according to the DMO comprised the debt stock of the Federal Government, the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The DMO in the statement said the increase in the debt stock by ₦2.381 trillion or USD6.593 billion was accounted for by the USD3.36 billion Budget Support Loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), new domestic borrowing to finance the Revised 2020 Appropriation Act including the issuance of the ₦162.557 billion Sukuk, and promissory notes issued to settle claims of exporters.
The DMO noted further that the figures could rise further when the balance of the new borrowing is raised which were arranged to finance the 2020 budget.
“The DMO expects the Public Debt Stock to grow as the balance of the New Domestic Borrowing is raised and expected disbursements are made by the World Bank, African Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank which were arranged to finance the 2020 Budget,” it said.
“The 2020 Appropriation Act had to be revised in the face of the adverse and severe impact of COVID-19 on Government’s revenues and increased expenditure needs on health and economic stimulus amongst others. Additional Promissory Notes are expected to be issued in the course of the year, this, and new borrowings by State Governments are also expected to increase the Public Debt Stock.”
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