Stop Further Borrowing To Reduce The Growing Debt Servicing Burden On Nigerians – DMO

Debt management office ( DMO ) has asked federal and state governments to stop further borrowing to reduce the growing debt servicing burden.

The office says Nigeria’s high debt service to revenue ratio, is no longer sustainable.

It warns that 73.5 per cent of the 2023 budget would be used to service debts.

The debt management office suggests raising the projected revenue of federal government from n10.49 trillion to N15.5 trillion.

The DMO puts the total domestic and foreign debts of federal and state governments at $108.3 billion or n49.8 trillion as at march 31, 2023.

According to dmo, the debt profile excluded the N227trillion ways and means advances of the central bank of nigeria to the buhari administration.

Read Also:

NDLEA Places Ogun Cannabis Plantations Under Watch, Nabs 175 Drug Traffickers.

Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella, while also commenting on the nation’s debt profile said: “We warned the government and suggested what to be done, but it seems to be profiteering at the expense of the nation.”
He suggested that the first thing the new administration should do is to seek to restructure the loans, including asking for a moratorium on those that will be due for repayment shortly.
“Moratorium means suspending payments of such loans in the interim.

Once that is granted, we will not be able to borrow for some time, and we don’t need the loans.

It will give us breathing space on loan repayments. Nigerian professionals, including financial experts, are ready to help out by offering advice and the government needs to tap into this.”