Nigeria's Total Debt Rises 2.3 % To 25 Trln Naira In Q1 ~DMO

Nigeria total public debt rose 2.30 percent in the first quarter of 2019 to 24.95 trillion naira or $81.27 billion, using 306.95 naira to the dollar exchange rate, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Wednesday.

The debt position stood at 24.39 trillion naira or $79.44 billion at the end of last year, according to the DMO data.
In a statement by the DMO, the increase in the total debt was accounted for largely by borrowing from the domestic market by the federal and state governments.
It said domestc debt grew by 458.36 billion naira in the period under review while external debt rose by 101.65 billion naira in the same period.
"In relation to the Debt Management Strategy, the Ratio of Domestic to External Debt stood at 68.49% to 31.51% at the end of March 2019," the debt office said.
According to the DMO, the country's debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio stood at 19.03 percent compared with 25 percent debt limit stipulated by the government.
Nigeria's external debt stood at $25.61 billion or 7.86 trillion naira in the first quarter of the year. The debt were owed by federal, state and the federal capital territory.
Furhter breakdown of the debt showed that the country's domestic debt stood at 17.09 trillion naira of which 13,11 trillion naira is owed by the federal government while the balance is owed by states and federal capital.