Nigeria’s foreign debt has hit a record $11 billion according to a senior official of the government’s Debt Management Office.
The Nigerian flagship newspaper ThisDay Sunday quoted the Director-General, of the DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo as confirming that the latest rise took place as at last week surpassing the $ 9.4 billion recorded in March.
According to Nwankwo, the country’s domestic debt has also risen to N11 trillion.
The figures are the total of all debts in the federation. It includes external debts of the federal and all the state governments as well as the domestic debts of the federal government and all the state governments he was quoting as telling tertiary students at an enlightenment event in Kaduna last Friday.
In a bid to reassure Nigerians, the DMO official said this was nothing to be alarmed about, although such a huge sum was bound to trigger public concern about whether it can be repaid.
He blamed the escalating global economic meltdown for the collapse in oil prices, which has left a serious dent in the economies countries around the world with Nigeria as no exception.
Nwankwo however praised the Nigerian economy as resilient enough to allow the government to remain in control of its debts which will remain sustainable for the foreseeable future.
According to him, the quantum of the debt did not really matter given that the most important thing was how the resources were deployed to encourage economic growth, development, generate employment and reduce poverty.
The Nigerian flagship newspaper ThisDay Sunday quoted the Director-General, of the DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo as confirming that the latest rise took place as at last week surpassing the $ 9.4 billion recorded in March.
According to Nwankwo, the country’s domestic debt has also risen to N11 trillion.
The figures are the total of all debts in the federation. It includes external debts of the federal and all the state governments as well as the domestic debts of the federal government and all the state governments he was quoting as telling tertiary students at an enlightenment event in Kaduna last Friday.
In a bid to reassure Nigerians, the DMO official said this was nothing to be alarmed about, although such a huge sum was bound to trigger public concern about whether it can be repaid.
He blamed the escalating global economic meltdown for the collapse in oil prices, which has left a serious dent in the economies countries around the world with Nigeria as no exception.
Nwankwo however praised the Nigerian economy as resilient enough to allow the government to remain in control of its debts which will remain sustainable for the foreseeable future.
According to him, the quantum of the debt did not really matter given that the most important thing was how the resources were deployed to encourage economic growth, development, generate employment and reduce poverty.
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