Nigeria’s total debt burden is expected to rise from N121.67 trillion in the first quarter of 2024 to N130 trillion by December this year. Afrinvest, in its latest report titled ‘Bank Recapitalization, Catalyst for $1 Trillion Economy’, said
The investment management firm said the estimate comes amid concerns over the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio.
POST DAILY POST reported that Nigeria’s total public debt, including external and domestic debt, stood at N121.67 trillion in the first quarter of 2024, compared to N97.34 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2023. According to the National Debt Bureau, the national debt rose by 24.99 percent between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2023. As a result, Afrinvest estimates that the budget deficit, total public debt, debt-to-GDP ratio and revenue supply cost in the coming years will exceed N13.0 trillion, N130 trillion, 55 percent and 60 percent, respectively, by the end of 2024.
Explaining the rationale for adding the projected debt, Afrivest said the 2024 budget is based on “overly optimistic” revenue assumptions, which could lead to historically disappointing budget performance.
“The 43.9 percent of expected revenue from oil and other precious metals is not possible to estimate. The report stated: “The Federal Government’s share in public debt increased by 44.6 per cent last year to N487.3 trillion, accounting for 89.7 per cent of total public debt as at the end of the year.
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the 2024 budget of N28.7 trillion with an expenditure of N18.32 trillion and an expenditure of N9.18 trillion.
Last month, the Senate approved the government’s request for a $800 million loan from the World Bank.
This comes after Finance Minister Wale Edun confirmed that the World Bank had approved a $2.25 billion request in June 2024.
