If the National Assembly grants President Muhammadu Buhari’s request to restructure the Ways and Means Advances, Nigeria’s public debt could reach N77 trillion.
The Central Bank of Nigeria uses the Ways and Means Advances loan facility to cover deficits in the government budget.
This is because in 2022, the Federal Government spent N5.24 trillion on servicing debts.
This was made public by Patience Oniha, Director-General of the Debt Management Office, on Wednesday during the public presentation of the 2023 budget organized by Dr. Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning.
She did, however, point out that the debt would be N70 trillion without N5 trillion in new borrowing and N2 trillion in promissory notes.
Oniha stated, “You don’t expect it to be significantly different from December. The DMO released the figure for the country’s debt stock as at September.” Second, numerous discussions surround the Ways and Means. in addition to the significant savings we would realize through securitization in loans service costs.
“In the sense that it is now reflected in the public debt stock, there is an element of transparency. This indicates that the amount will be included in the public debt once it is approved by the National Assembly. Public debt will rise significantly to N77 trillion.
She stated that revenue is gaining significant importance despite the fact that new borrowing is increasing debt.
“You can’t talk about debt without talking about revenue, as DMO always says.” We require collaboration between the two,” she added.
The country’s debt stock increased to N44.06 trillion in September of last year as a result of the FG’s enormous appetite for borrowing under the current administration.
Due to the country’s rising debt levels, experts and key economic stakeholders had criticized the DMO and the government.