Punchng:

National debt rises to N10.8tn
The total debt of the
Federal Government,
the 36 states of the
federation and the
Federal Capital Territory
rose from N8.32tn on
September 30, 2013 to
N10.84tn on September 30, 2014.
This means that the nation’s total debt stock rose by N2.52tn
or 30.29 per cent within one year period.
Statistics obtained from the website of the Debt Management
Office in Abuja on Monday indicated that the N8.32tn did not
include the domestic debt of the states in 2013.
Details of the current debt status of the country showed that
the external debts of both the federal and state governments
stood at $9.52bn or N1.48tn.
As of September 30, the domestic debt stock of the Federal
Government alone stood at $49.12bn or N7.65tn. The
domestic debt of states, on the other hand, stood at $10.97bn
or N1.71tn.
In comparison, the external debt of both the federal and state
governments stood at N1.28tn (or $8.26bn) as of September
30, 2013. Also, the domestic debt of the Federal Government
a year ago stood at N7.03tn.
Dissecting the Federal Government’s current domestic debt of
N7.65tn by instruments, the Federal Government Bond
contributed N4.6tn or 60.12 per cent to the profile; the
Nigerian Treasury Bills contributed N2.74tn or 35.76 per cent
while Treasury Bonds contributed N315.39bn or 4.12 per
cent.
As of June 2014, out of a total external debt of $3.01bn owed
by the states, the Lagos State Government owed $1.02bn.
Other major holders of the country’s external sub-national
debts include Kaduna State which owes $245.51m and Cross
River State, $120.21m. Others are Ogun $116.69m; Bauchi,
$111.61m; and Oyo, $80.11m.
The states least exposed to foreign debts are Borno, $16.07m;
Plateau, $22.99m; Taraba, $24.06m; Delta, $24.7m; and
Benue, $28.79m.
However, in comparison to the nation’s total external
indebtedness, the states owed 32.13 per cent; leaving the
Federal Government with 67.87 per cent.
Loans from China Export Import Bank and monies raised
from Eurobond accounted for $2.54bn of the Federal
Government’s $6.36bn external debt while multilateral
sources accounted for $3.82bn.
As of June 2013, the nation’s total external loan stood at
$6.92bn. This means that over a period of one year, the
country’s external debt rose by $2.46bn, showing 35.51 per
cent increase.
The growth of the nation’s debt stock can be seen in the
budget for debt servicing. The Federal Government plans to
spend N2.08tn servicing the country’s debt within the next
three years.
The figures for debt servicing as well as the county’s debt
stock are contained in the Medium Term Expenditure
Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper of the Federal
Government.