Servicing the external debts of 36 states in Nigeria has become more expensive as the Naira experiences a rough patch against the US dollar.
Data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) showed that, as of December 2021, the total external debt stock of 36 subnational governments and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, stood at $4.77 billion.
At an exchange rate of N409.6/$ in December 2021, the Naira equivalent of the external debt was at N1.9 trillion.
With the exchange rate at N428.12 to a dollar as of Thursday, August 4, 2022, the external debt burden of states stands at N2.4 trillion, equivalent in Naira.
States with the highest level of external debt. As of December 2021, the states with the highest external debts were Lagos, Kaduna, Cross River, Edo, and Rivers.
Lagos State
Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial hub, had the most external debt as of December last year. The state owed $1.33 billion in December 2021, down from $1.40 billion in December 2020, according to data from the Debt Management Office. Its external debt rose to $1.47 billion in December 2017 from $1.21 billion in December 2015.
Kaduna State
Kaduna State had the second-highest external debt as of December 2021. Its foreign debt rose to $567.48 million at the end of last year from $554.78 million in December 2020 and $222.88 million in December 2016.
Cross River Cross
Rivers State had an external debt of $279.7 million in December 2021. Its external debt had dropped to $192.5 million in December 2020 from $209 million in December 2019. It stood at $115 million in December 2016.
Edo State
Edo State trimmed its external debt to $276.3 million in December 2021 from $280.3 million in the previous year. Its foreign debt stood at $168.2 million in December 2015.
Rivers State
River State’s external debt increased to $147.8 million in December 2021, up from $96.7 million in December 2020. The state’s external debt stood at $46.9 million in December 2015.
The Nigerian Government spends N41.9 billion on debt servicing. The nation’s monthly debt servicing increased by $31.46 million in one month to $101.29 million in January, according to figures released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) The Punch report shows a 45 per cent jump month-on-month.
The CBN stated in its data on debt service repayment that the federal government spent approximately $69.83 million on it in December.
