The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, has raised the alarm that Nigeria’s debt servicing declined to 3.87 trillion in 2022 as against 4.22 trillion in 2021.
In a statement on Wednesday by the Director General of LCCI, Dr Chinyere Almona, she disclosed that Nigeria’s debt profile increased by 360.67 per cent between 2013 to 2022.
Recall that the Debt Management Office’s recent data put Nigeria’s total debt stock at the end of 2022 is N46.25 Trillion($103.11 Billion), representing an N6.69 Trillion increase from N39.56 trillion ($95.77 billion) at the end of the end-2021.
A fresh perspective on the data by LCCI stated that Nigeria’s debt repayment service had dropped. Here, debt servicing means paying interest and principal on loans at a particular time. It means the country could only spend a little on debt servicing in 2022 compared to 2021.
LCCI worried that the declined debt servicing in the face of insignificant revenue growth, and significant presence of decaying infrastructure and the unsustainable burden of oil subsidy overhang portend a considerable threat to Nigeria’s economic stability.
“In contrast, debt service declined to N3.87 trillion in 2022, representing an 8.3 per cent decrease from N4.22 trillion spent in 2021.
“Between 2013 and end-2022, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) notes that public debt rose by 360.47 per cent, from N10.04 trillion in 2013”, LCCI stated.