Data from the Debt Management Office, DMO, has shown that Nigeria’s debt servicing increased by 14.68 per cent to N3.36 trillion in 2022 as against N2.93 trillion spent in the previous year.
Media Talk Africa recalls that the latest DMO figure revealed Nigeria’s total debt stock, both external and domestic debts in 2022, increased to 46.25 trillion in December.
A breakdown of the figure showed that the country spent $2.4 billion, equivalent to N1.07 trillion using the current exchange rate of $/N460, to service its external debt last year.
On the other hand, domestic debt servicing gulped N2.56 trillion in 2022, with the highest expenditure of N529.88 billion recorded in April.
DMO had explained that the continued rise of Nigeria’s debt was due to federal and state governments borrowing to fund budget deficits and project execution.
However, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce, LCCI, and Industry and the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPE, have condemned the increasing rate of Nigeria’s debt profile without commensurate revenue capacity.
