Debt illustration

Nigeria’s total debt in seven years outweighed the revenue generated by the Federal Government by N13.26tn, according to findings by The PUNCH. The findings were based on data from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Debt Management Office. The PUNCH learnt that the Federal Government recorded revenue of N43.06tn between 2016 and 2022 as the country borrowed N56.32tn within the same period. The debt included borrowing by the Federal Government and states (including the Federal Capital Territory), as well as borrowing from the CBN through the Ways and Means Advances. As of December 2015, Nigeria’s total public debt was N12.6tn, but this grew by N33.65tn to N46.25tn by December 2022. Also, the borrowing from the CBN was N856.33bn as of December 2015 but grew by N22.67tn to N23.53tn by December 2022. The Federal Government earned N3.18tn in 2016, N3.62tn in 2017, N3.88tn in 2018, and N4.69tn in 2019. Also, the Federal Government made N4.02tn in 2020, N4.4tn in 2021, and N5.06tn in 2022. The DMO recently stressed the need for Nigeria to boost revenue and manage spending. Past reports have shown that Nigeria suffers declining revenue despite a widening budget deficit.

Punch