Domestic debt of 36 states, FCTA jumps by N870bn to N5.33tn in 2022 – DMO

Debt Management Office (DMO) has said that domestic debt owed by the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) jumped to N5.33 trillion as at end of December 2022.

The DMO had earlier put Nigeria’s total public debt stock at $103.11 billion as at December 2022.

The sub-national domestic debt stock was N4.46tn by the end of 2021, which means it rose by N870bn within one year, according to data released by the Debt Management Office.

It indicated that Lagos State recorded the highest domestic debt as of the end of Q4 2022 with N807.21bn; this was followed by Delta State with N304.25bn and Ogun State with N270.45bn.

On the other hand, the lowest debt was recorded by Jigawa State with N43.95bn, followed by Kebbi State and Katsina State with N61.31bn and N62.37bn, respectively.

In the states’ debt profile breakdown, Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom and Anambra owed N103.7bn, N124bn, N219.2bn and N77.4bn, respectively, while Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno borrowed N143.6bn, N146.3bn, N141.3bn, N96.1bn respectively.

Other debtor states are Cross-River; N197.2bn, Ebonyi; N76.4bn, Edo; N110.5bn, Ekiti; N117.1, Enugu; N91.8bn, Gombe; N139.3bn, Imo; N204.2bn, Kaduna; N83.3bn, Kano; N122.3bn, Kogi; N93.6bn, Kwara; N109.3bn, Nasarawa; N71.4bn, Niger; 95.5bn, Ondo; N77.1bn, Osun; N148.3bn.

Oyo, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara and FCT had N161.1bn, N149bn, N90.5bn, N87.9bn, N90.7bn, N112.1bn and N81bn respectively.

However, the DMO said, the domestic debt stock for Rivers State was for September 30, 2021, and figures for Katsina and Taraba states were for September 30, 2022.

It would be recalled that the DMO had, last Thursday, put Nigeria’s total public debt stock at $103.11 billion, adding that the figure increased from N46.25 trillion recorded in December 2021, to the current sum as at December 2022.

According to the DMO, the new figure is made up of the domestic and external total debt stocks of the Federal Government and the sub-national governments (36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory).

The DMO, Thursday, also stated that the comparative figure of public debt as of December 31, 2021, was N39.56 trillion or $95.77 billion, representing an increase by N6.69trn or $7.34bn recorded within one year.

“As of December 31, 2022, the Total Public Debt Stock was N46.25 trillion or USD103.11 billion.

“In terms of composition, total Domestic Debt Stock was N27.55 trillion (USD 61.42 billion) while Total External Debt Stock was N18.70 trillion (USD 41.69 billion).

“Amongst the reasons for the increase in the total public debt stock were new borrowings by the FGN and sub-national governments, primarily to fund budget deficits and execute projects. The issuance of promissory notes by the FGN to settle some liabilities also contributed to the growth in the debt stock.

“On-going efforts by the Government to increase revenues from oil and non-oil sources through initiatives such as the Finance Acts and the Strategic Revenue Mobilization initiative are expected to support debt sustainability

“The total public debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio for December 31, 2022, was 23.20 per cent and indicates a slight increase from the figure for December 31, 2022, at 22.47 per cent.

“The ratio of 23.20 per cent is within the 40 per cent limit self-imposed by Nigeria, the 55 per cent limit recommended by the World Bank/International Monetary Fund, and, the 70 per cent limit recommended by the Economic Community of West African States,” the DMO statement read.