The total debt profile of Nigeria now stands at $44.28bn (N6.88tn), according to the Debt Management Office (DMO).
Statistics obtained from the DMO revealed that the domestic debt component of the total indebtedness stood at $38.37bn (N5.97tn), while the external debt stood at $5.91bn (N919.44bn) as at March 31, 2012.
Details of the external debt balance showed that multilateral financial institutions accounted for 83.28 per cent of the country’s total debt with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development-a member of the World Bank Group-is owed $6.31m.
Another member of the group, the International Development Association is owed $4.29bn while the International Fund for Agricultural Development is owed $70.25m.
The African Development Bank is owed $43.55m, while the African Development Fund is owed $387.23m.
Non-Paris Club debt sources account for 8.26 per cent of the nation’s external debt, which includes European Development Fund, $110.08m; and the Islamic Development Fund, $14.56m.
Bilateral loans account for $433.84m, while commercial loans contribute $54.63m.
The $500m, which Nigeria borrowed from the International Capital Market in 2011, accounts for the remaining 8.26 per cent of the external debt.
Details of the domestic debts, on the other hand, showed that FGN bonds accounted for N3.67tn or 61.44 per cent of the money borrowed by the Federal Government from internal sources.
Nigerian Treasury Bills account for N1.95tn or 32.63 per cent, while treasury bonds account for N353.73m or 5.93 per cent.
As at March 31, 2011, the nation’s external debt stood at $5.23bn, while the domestic debt stood at N4.87tn.
This means that within a one-year period, the external debt stock rose by 13 per cent, while the domestic debt stock rose by 22.59 per cent.
The Federal Government had recently disclosed to the National Assembly its plan to borrow $8bn from external sources for infrastructure development.
If the loan request is approved, the country’s foreign debt will grow to $13.91bn.
