Nigeria’s total public debt stock rose from N33.11trillion as of March 31, 2021 to N35.47tn as of June 30, 2021.
This shows an increase of N2.36tn or 7.13 per cent increase within the three-month period.
The Director General of the Debt Management Office, DMO, Patience Oniha, provided a breakdown of the public debt stock for the second quarter of 2021 during a virtual media presentation on Wednesday.
The total external debt stock rose from N12.47tn as of March 31 to N13.71tn as of June 30, indicating an increase of N1.24tn or 9.94 per cent.
The total domestic debt stock rose from N20.64tn as of March 31 to N21.75tn as of June 30, indicating an increase of N1.11tn or 5.38 per cent.
The DMO boss stated that the debt stock was fast growing, with a high debt service to revenue ratio, alongside issues around the use of debt proceeds.
She blamed the public debt issues on high infrastructure deficit, recession, consecutive budget deficits, low revenue base, worsened by the country’s reliance on a single source of income – crude oil.
She said the government needed to expand its revenue base and promote public-private partnership.
