By Joy Baba-Yesufu
Nigeria’s total public debt rose marginally by 0.61 per cent quarter-on-quarter to N87.91trn in the third quarter of 2023.
This is according to new debt stock data from the Debt Management Office released on Wednesday.
According to the data released, total external debt stood at N31.98trn and domestic debt amounted to N55.93trn in the period being reported.
DMO said, “At N87.91tn, the total public debt stock represents a marginal increase of 0.61 per cent when compared to the June 30, 2023 figure of N87.38tn. 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 N1.8tn in the 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.”
It noted that the servicing of these debts denotes a clear demonstration of the Federal Government’s commitment to honour its debt obligations.
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