FG, States Spend N428bn To Service External Debt In 2018

The Federal government and the 36 states spent N428.4 billion to service external debt amounting to N7.76 trillion ($25.3 billion) in 2018. The amount spent on external debt services represents 4.7 percent of the N9.1 trillion approved budget for 2018.

National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this in a report titled, “Nigeria’s Foreign and Domestic Debt position for Fourth Quarter, and 2018″. The report showed that the country’s external debt rose by 33.8 percent to N7.76 trillion ($25.3 billion) in 2018 from N5.8 trillion ($18.91 billion) in 2017.

Further disaggregation of Nigeria’s external debt showed that multilateral debt stood at $11.01 billion and accounted for $249.05 million or 16.92 percent of the total external debt service. Bilateral debt (AFD) which stood at $344.63 million accounted for $150.36 million or 10.21 percent of the external debt service figure, while $11.17 billion of the external debt which was commercial (basically Eurobonds and diaspora bonds), accounted for $1.03 billion or 70.03 percent of the total external debt service. Others, comprising of agency fees and oil warrants, accounted for the remaining $41.75 million or 2.84 percent of the total external debt service fee.

Meanwhile the country’s total public debt comprising of foreign and domestic debts rose by 12 percent to N24.39 trillion in December 2018 from N21.73 trillion in December 2018.

Further analysis showed that the domestic debt rose by 4.3 percent to N16.63 trillion in December 2018 from N15.94 trillion in December 2017.

Lagos State has for the highest foreign debt profile among the thirty-six states and the FCT, accounting for 5.64 percent of the total debt, while Edo (1.09 percent), Kaduna (0.90 percent) and Cross River (0.75 percent) followed closely.

Similarly, Lagos State accounting for 3.19 percent of the total domestic debt stock, while Yobe State has the least debt stock with a contribution of 0.17 percent to the total domestic debt stock.

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