NIGERIA’S PRESENT DEBTS of N24.39 trillion has become worrisome to International Monetary Fund, IMF. The country’s ability to repay the foreign debt is the key concern as the debts continues to rise. IMF admitted that conditions to borrow were favourable to Nigeria, but being able to pack back remains source of concern.
At the on joint Spring Meeting of IMF and World Bank in Washington, IMF’s Tobias Adrian said: “Nigeria has been borrowing in international markets but we worry. So, on the one hand, that is very good because it allows Nigeria to invest more; but on the other hand, we do worry about rollover risks going forward.
“At the moment, funding conditions in economies such as Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries are very favourable but that might change at some point. And there is a risk of rollovers and there is the risk of whether these needs for refinancing can be met in the future”, he added.
Adrian is the Financial Counsellor and Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF. He was presenting the Global Financial Stability Report at the spring meetings. Nigeria’s total debt profile at December 31, 2018, stood at N24.387tn. It increased 12.25 percent from N21.725tn in 2017 to N24.39tn in 2018.
Nigeria’s Debt Management Office said the debt rose N2.66tn from December 31, 2017 to December 31, 2018. DMO’s figures showed the country’s public debt rose from N21.73tn in 2017 to N24.39tn, a period of one-year. per
