N2.34trn spent on debt servicing in 6 months – DMO

Nigeria spent N2.34 trillion on debt service within six months, according to a new report by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

Nigeria’s debt servicing spending in the second quarter of 2023 saw a slowdown, amounting to N849.58 billion.

This marked a 43.04% decline from the N1.49 trillion spent on debt servicing in the first quarter of 2023.

Data from the DMO reveals that in the first quarter of 2023, Nigeria allocated N874.13 billion for servicing domestic debt and $801.36 million (equivalent to N617.35 billion) for external debt servicing, totalling N1.24 trillion.

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Servicing expenses amounted to N565.88 billion, while external debt servicing costs reached $368.26 million (N283.7 billion), resulting in a combined total of N1.24 trillion, according to data obtained from the DMO.

The exchange rate of the DMO, which was $1 to N770.38, was used for external debt servicing.

In contrast to the previous quarter, during which Nigeria allocated around $131.13 million for servicing Exim Bank of China loans, no funds were dedicated to Chinese loan servicing in the first quarter of 2023, as reported by DMO.