Debt Management Office (DMO) says that a total of N4.381 trillion (N4, 381,207,357,790.30) went into the servicing of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s domestic debt obligations between January and December 2023, the DMO disclosed over the weekend. FGN’s domestic debt profile stood at N53.258 trillion as of December 31, 2023. A month-by-month analysis showed that the sum of N244.56 billion was expended on debt service in January 2023, N146.4 billion in February, N483.14 billion in March, and N448.952 billion in April. For May, debt service gulped N48,359 billion, June was N68.572 billion, 833, while July and August were N268.1 billion and N175.526 billion, respectively. A total of N496,959 billion, N463.54 billion, 1.196 trillion (the highest for the year), and N340.378 billion were committed to debt service for September, October, November, and December, respectively.
Debt instruments accounting for the N4.38 trillion debt service during the reference period were the Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) N326.122 billion; Federal Government Bonds N3.663 trillion; Treasury Bonds N6.373 billion; Green Bonds N2.175 billion; and FGN Sukuk Bonds N103.25 billion. Others are FGN Savings Bond (FGNSB) N2.866 billion; and Promissory Notes. At 83.1 percent or N44.26 trillion, FGN Bonds accounted for the largest chunk of FGN’s N53.258 trillion domestic debt obligations as of December 31, 2023, followed by NTBs at N6.522 trillion or 12.25 percent, and Promissory Notes at N1.329 trillion or 2.5 percent. Meanwhile, at the subnational level, Lagos, Delta, Ogun, and Rivers are the leading debtor states with the highest domestic debt burden as of December 31, 2023. While Lagos State owned a total of N960. 495 billion (N960,495,545,836.25) during the period under review, Delta State was next with N371.485 billion (N371,485,618,063.33), and Ogun State N293.2 billion (N293,204,959,775.19). Ogun State was trailed by Rivers State with N232.57 billion (N232, 576,206,164.34).
