The Director General of the Debt Management Office, DMO, Mrs Patience Oniha, says the domestic debt profile of Nigeria stands at N3.685 trillion.
Mrs Oniha stated this when she appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Aid, Loans and Debt Management to defend the agency’s 2023 budget.
She explained that the domestic debt profile of the country is rising from N3.2 trillion in 2022 to N3.3 trillion in 2023 due to high interest rate from borrowed funds from domestic and international sources of funds
The DG noted that borrowing is a collective responsibility, stressing the need for the parliament to look at borrowing of funds by the government from a macro-economic perspective.
The chairman of the committee, Mr Ahmed Safana, expressed concern at the astronomical increase in the debt profile of the country.
Mr Safana noted that there was one trillion Naira (N1trillion) increase in the debt profile of the nation in the last one year calling on the DMO as a relevant agency to halt the frequency of borrowings.
A member of the committee from Anambra State, Mr Emeka Azubogu, argued that borrowings by government at any level must be tied to specific projects and demanded details of the N3.55 trillion earmarked for borrowing in the 2023 budget.
The committee members also directed the DMO to submit to the panel, all the details of assets sold, payment made and outstanding debts owed to the agency under privatisation.
