Nigeria’s total debt stock stood at $53.46 billion as at end-March 2013. This is the aggregate of Federal Government, State governments and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) debt. The Director General of Debt Management Office (DMO), Dr. Abraham Nwankwo gave this figure at a world press conference on “Advances in, and status of, Public Debt Management in Nigeria” held in Enugu, Enugu State on Friday, May 31, 2013. Giving a breakdown, Dr. Nwankwo put the total external debt of the country (Federal Government of Nigeria, State Governments and FCT) at $6.14 billion, while the larger part of $47.65 billion is domestic debt. Dr. Nwankwo, however, assured that the country’s public debt is quite sustainable. He said that relative to the size of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the country has not over borrowed and, is therefore not likely to suffer any debt overhang. He also explained that compared to countries at the same level of development and similar GDP size, Nigeria has not borrowed too much, either in terms of domestic or external debt.
