Nigeria’s public debt increased by 48.58%, and as of December 2024, Nigeria’s debt reached 144.67 trillion n144.67 trillion, up from the N97.34 trillion recorded at the end of 2023.
This was disclosed in the latest report from the Debt Management Office (DMO), which showed a year-on-year increase of 47.32 trillion.
The report also highlighted a quarter-quarter growth of 1.65%, up from $142.32 trillion in September 2024. This shows that the upward trend of the country’s debt situation is consistent.
The continued increase in Nigeria’s debt is driven primarily by the external and domestic lending portfolio.
Foreign debt rose significantly by 83.89%, with Dutch 70.29 trillion in December 2024, compared with N38.22 trillion in the same period in 2023.
Similarly, domestic debt rose 25.77% to 59.12 trillion n74.38 trillion from December 2024 to the end of 2023.
A detailed breakdown shows that the federal government accounts for 62.292 trillion guilds ($40.98 billion) of foreign debt, while states and federal capital territory (FCT) owed 73.37 trillion guilds ($4.8 billion).
For domestic debt, the federal government holds 70.41 trillion guilds ($45.86 billion), while states and FCT owes 3.97 trillion guilds ($2.58 billion).
Rising debt levels have attracted the attention of financial experts. Dr. Muda Yusuf, CEO of the Centre for Private Enterprise Promotion, criticized debt, especially given the country’s significant infrastructure deficit.
