Economy
Domestic Debt Servicing Gulps N3.7tr in Three Years
By Dipo Olowookere
Data by the Debt Management Office (DMO) has revealed that the sum of N3.73 trillion has been used by Federal Government to service domestic debts since 2015.
In 2015, a total of N1.02 trillion was spent on domestic debt servicing, while in 2016, N1.23 trillion was used to service the local debts and N1.48 trillion was spent by government on debt servicing.
According to the data obtained by Business Post, in 2017, Federal Government spent N180.6 billion to service local debts in January and N187 billion was used for the same purpose in March.
In May 2017, it used N73.1 billion for debt servicing and N217.3 billion for same purpose in July.
In September, N171.4 billion was used to service local debts, N92.7 billion used in November and N52.2 billion in December.
A recent statement released by the DMO disclosed that the total debt profile of Nigeria as at December 31, 2017 was N21.73 trillion.
The composition of the debt stock showed that external debt was 26.64 percent of the portfolio, up from 20.04 percent in 2016, while domestic debt was 73.36 percent, down from 79.96 percent a year earlier.
Further analysis showed that the domestic debt for the Federal Government was N12.59 trillion, while that of the states and the Federal Capital Territory was N3.35 trillion.
The external debt of the Federal Government, states and the FCT was N5.79 trillion, putting the total public debt as of December 31, 2017 at N21.73 trillion.
The debt office noted that the total public debt as of December 31, 2017 represented 18.2 percent of Nigeria’s GDP for the year, showing that Nigeria’s debt had continued to be sustainable and was well within the threshold of 56 percent for countries in her peer group.
Federal Government has been spending considerable resources in recent times on the servicing of domestic debts, thereby raising questions of the sustainability of the country’s debt burden.
However, the Federal Government has insisted that the nation’s debt burden is sustainable since it is less than 20 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product although lesser revenues have made the payment of interest burdensome.
This has motivated the government to move towards foreign borrowing since such loans attract less interest payment.
Among the various instruments Federal Government used to borrow from the domestic debt market, the highest interest was paid on the FGN Bonds.
In 2017, for instance, Federal Government paid N982.66 billion on the FGN Bonds and a total of N445.13 billion was paid on Nigerian Treasury Bills; N22.99 billion on Treasury Bonds; while N25 billion of the principal was repaid.
In addition, an interest of N442 billion was paid on Savings Bonds.
According to the DMO, restructuring of the country’s debt mix has led to an increase in foreign debts in order to minimise the high interest rate on local debts.
“The key benefits of the restructuring of the portfolio are the reduction of the government’s debt service costs, lowering of interest rates in the domestic market and improved availability of credit facilities to the private sector.
“We repaid N198 billion Nigerian Treasury Bills in December 2017 with the proceeds of Eurobond issuances, and we have continued further implementation of the strategy in 2018, with the issuance of the S2.5 billion Eurobonds in February 2018, the proceeds of which are being used to repay maturing domestic debts, starting with N130 billion NTBs repaid on March 1, 2018,” the debt office said.
According to the DMO, the borrowings are for financing capital expenditure and stimulating the economy. The funds injected through the borrowings strongly supported the implementation of the Federal Government’s budget, which helped the country to exit recession in 2017.
Additional information from Economic Confidential
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Monday allotted bonds worth N929.3 billion to investors from the N1.7 trillion bids it received from subscribers.
The exercise, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2026, was oversubscribed by market participants, reflecting the confidence investors have in the government’s ability to redeem the debt instrument on maturity.
On offer for sale for the July auction was N1.2 trillion worth of the FGN bonds, but the DMO allotted below this, despite receiving bids above the offer.
The papers were offered in 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year tenors, at N400 billion each.
For the decade-old note, investors staked N444.47 billion, but the debt office sold N245.73 billion at an 18.34 per cent coupon rate. For the one and a half-decade-old paper, bids valued at N518.00 billion were received by the DMO, with a non-competitive bid of N50.00 billion, with N302.13 billion allotted to investors at 18.40 per cent, and for the two-decade paper, the DMO got competitive bids of N665.19 billion and N381.46 billion was sold to bondholders at 18.35 per cent.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, disclosed that Nigeria’s external reserves had risen to $52.5 billion, enough to finance about nine months of imports.
He disclosed this on Tuesday at the end of the 306th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held in Abuja, where the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the benchmark interest rate at 26.50 per cent as well as the standing facilities corridor at +50/-450 basis points around the MPR.
Similarly, the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) was maintained at 45 per cent for Deposit Money Banks, 16 per cent for Merchant Banks, and 75 per cent for non-Treasury Single Account (TSA) public sector deposits.
Speaking on FX developments, the central banker said at the $52 billion level, the country’s external reserves were significantly above the internationally recommended threshold of three months of import cover.
On the Naira exchange rate, Mr Cardoso said the foreign exchange market had deepened and was now operating on a transparent willing-buyer, willing-seller basis.
He said the apex bank remained committed to maintaining a liquid and functional foreign exchange market, adding that daily market turnover sometimes exceeded $1 billion.
According to him, the long-term stability of the naira would depend on key economic fundamentals, including increased oil exports, foreign direct investment, and improved domestic productivity to reduce dependence on imports.
He also added that the MPC welcomed the federal government’s renewed commitment to stronger policy coordination, particularly collaboration between fiscal and monetary authorities, which he said had helped reduce the impact of the Middle East crisis on the Nigerian economy.
Mr Cardoso said members of the committee also commended efforts to improve crude oil production and urged relevant agencies to intensify reforms in other sectors, including solid minerals, to boost government revenue.
On the regulatory forbearance granted to banks during the COVID-19 period, he reiterated that this had been discontinued because it had served its purpose.
According to him, the policy had “outlived its time” and was no longer necessary in assessing the health of the banking sector.
“Forbearance, we felt, had outlived its time. Many of you will recall this is something that came as a result of COVID. And now we are in 2026; we did not see the reason why that should continue to form part of the analysis of the banking system,” he said.
Mr Cardoso explained that banks had begun recalibrating their portfolios following the end of the policy, leading to a temporary reduction in outstanding risk assets.
He, however, assured that the development was part of a transition towards a stronger and more sustainable credit environment.
“It reflects a transition to a more sustainable and better quality credit environment, which is what we all want. We don’t want unanticipated shocks that come in a boom-and-bust fashion,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its recent positive run by 1.17 per cent on Tuesday, July 21, triggered by appreciation seen in four bellwethers.
Leading the pack was FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which added N12.00 to its value to close at N153.15 per share compared with the previous day’s N141.15 per share. NASD Plc appreciated by N1.90 to N36.00 per unit from N34.10 per unit, Food Concepts Plc improved by 23 Kobo to N2.48 per share from N2.25 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc grew by a marginal 1 Kobo to N15.01 per unit from N15.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation of the bourse increased by N30.40 billion to N2.637 trillion from Monday’s N2.606 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 50.70 points to finish at 4,393.97 points, in contrast to the 4,343.27 points it ended a day earlier.
The unlisted securities exchange recorded a price loser yesterday, and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which shed 1 Kobo to settle at N2.30 per share versus N2.31 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by market participants on Tuesday dropped 99.4 per cent to 322,147 units from the previous day’s 52.6 million units, the value of securities dipped by 89.8 per cent to N19.4 million from the preceding session’s N191.2 million, and the number of deals contracted by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from 28 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
