Debt Payment Gulps 85percent of Nigeria’s Revenue – Report

The Federal Government in Nigeria spent 85.37 percent of its revenue servicing debt in February, a report by the Central Bank of Nigeria has revealed.

In its monthly economic report for February 2023, the apex bank noted that the Federal Government had a retained revenue of N478.57bn in February.

The CBN also stated that the Federal Government spent N408.5bn on debt servicing in the same month.

Furthermore, the report showed that the country recorded a fiscal deficit of N513.05bn in February.

Part of the report reads: “The estimated overall fiscal deficit of the FGN expanded in February, due to a drop in the retained revenue. At N513.05 billion, the provisional fiscal deficit of the FGN rose by 22.8 percent relative to the preceding month. However, it was 16.2 per cent below the budget benchmark.”

In a recent report, the International Monetary Fund said the Federal Government projected an 82 percent expenditure of its revenue on interest payments in 2023.

According to the IMF, external debt (including that of the private sector) will rise to $121.6bn, with external reserves climbing to $37.5bn.

Punch/Hauwa Abu