Nigeria’s rising debt profile spells doom for incoming government – Experts

Nigeria’s swelling debt profile without a commensurate infrastructural development has become of great concern to many Nigerians.

For economic experts, the situation would spell doom for President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor as from May 29, 2023.

Just recently, the Debt Management Office, DMO, said Nigeria’s total debt stock would hit N77tn in May 2023 if the National Assembly okayed the Buhari administration’s 23.8 trillion Ways and Means Advances.

Contrary to the Central Bank Act of 2007 (Section 38.2), which caps advances to the Federal Government of Nigeria at 5 percent of last year’s revenues, the country’s apex bank has given FGN 55.3 trillion ways, and means advances since Buhari assumed office.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government stated that it spent over 80 percent of its revenue on debt servicing in the first eleven months of 2022.

Former CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido, Deputy CBN Governor, Kingsley Moghalu and economist Doyin Salami had at different fora, accused the bank of flaunting its law.

The Minister of Finance and Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, on her part, had said there is no cause for alarm over the country’s debt profile because the nation has no records of default.

But experts say the significant implication is the government’s over-reliance on short-term borrowing to finance its operations, as the government has had to pay higher interest rates to attract investors and for flaring inflation