The total public debt of Nigeria has risen to N39.556 trillion ($95. 770 billion), the Debt Management Office (DMO) said at an interactive session in Abuja on Thursday.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that this figure, authorities say, is accurate as of December 31, 2021.
The DMO is a government agency established to centrally coordinate the management of Nigeria’s debt. It was formed in October 2000.
Despite the rising public debt, the Federal Government is planning to borrow N12 trillion. The Muhammadu Buhari administration hopes to push its public debt stock to N50.22 trillion by 2023 when it will leave office. It says it needs money to finance developmental projects.
While some analysts say the borrowing is worrisome, and its pace is not sustainable, a few others argue that it is inevitable.
A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and 2023 presidential candidate, Kingsley Moghalu, condemned the constant borrowing of the Federal Government, saying it was irresponsible.
“I condemn the borrowing plan in its entirety. I think the Federal Government of Nigeria has been borrowing irresponsibly and mortgaging the future of the youth of Nigeria,” he said.
“This should stop. The damage will be very difficult to repair. There is no need for Nigeria to be borrowing at the rate it is borrowing and the huge sums it is borrowing.
“There is an element of callousness in this. They are doing everything as possible to borrow before 2023, and then walk away and hand over the problem to someone else.”
