Index to Nigerian Newspapers

Nigeria’s total debt (Federal Government and states’ loans) may hit at least N107.38tn soon following the approval of fresh borrowings for the Federal Government and the new securitization of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s N7.3tn Ways and Means advances. This is as the Senate, as of December 2023, approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to borrow $7.8 billion and €100 million as part of the Federal Government’s 2022–2024 borrowing plan. According to Tinubu, the Federal Executive Council under former President Muhammadu Buhari approved the loan facility on May 15, 2023, to finance infrastructure, health, education, agriculture, insecurity, and other sectors. While asking for approval, he said the foreign loan was necessary to bridge the financial gap and return normalcy to economic activities in the country. Nigeria’s total debt as of the end of September 2023 was N87.91tn, according to data from the Debt Management Office. The breakdown of this debt revealed total external debt as N31.98tn ($41.59bn) and total domestic debt of N55.93tn. The total debt includes that of the federal government and state governments. Following the recent approvals by the senate, total debt will climb up by at least 22.15 percent (N19.47 trillion) to N107.38 trillion in 2024 if the borrowing plan is followed.