Nigeria’s debt stock hits N42.84 trillion

Nigeria’s public debt stock grew by 20.81 percent in the second quarter of 2022 from the figure recorded in the second quarter of 2021.

It was N35.46 trillion (86.57 billion dollars) in the second quarter of 2021, but now N42.84 trillion (103.31 billion dollars) in the same period of 2022.

These figures are contained in the Nigerian Domestic and Foreign Debt Report for Q2 2021 to Q2 2022 released in Abuja today by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.

The report also indicated that the external debt which stood at N13.71 trillion (33.46 billion dollars) in the second quarter of 2021, increased to N16.61 trillion (40.06 billion dollars) in the second quarter of 2022.

Patience Oniha

Similarly, the domestic debt which was N21.75 trillion (53.10 billion dollars) in the second quarter of 2021, jumped to N26.23 trillion (63.24 billion dollars) in the second quarter of 2022.

In a breakdown by states, the NBS said Lagos State recorded the highest domestic debt of N797.30 billion, followed by Delta at N378.87 billion and Ogun at N241.78 billion.

On the flip side, Jigawa recorded the lowest debt at N45.13 billion, followed by Ebonyi and Kebbi at N59.11 billion and N60.41 billion, respectively.

And for external debt,  Lagos State also recorded the highest stock of 1.27 billion dollars in the second quarter of 2022, followed by Kaduna State at 586.77 million dollars and Edo at 268.31 million dollars.

The lowest external debt stock was seen in Borno at 18.69 million dollars, followed by Taraba and Yobe at 22.28 million dollars and 23.09 million dollars, respectively.