Abuja: The Debt Management Office (DMO) has advised the Nigerian media to stop sensationalising the debt situation and always endeavour to get accurate information on the country's debt profile before reporting. The DMO gave the advice in a statement in Abuja, against the backdrop of misleading media reports from the West Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC).
According to News Agency of Nigeria, a media report had quoted the agency as saying that 'Nigeria remains one of the largest borrowers in West Africa alongside Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal'. The DMO countered this claim, stating that the presentation provided an overview of debt trends, challenges, and potential solutions affecting the West African sub-region as a whole, and was not solely about Nigeria.
The DMO emphasised that public debt within the sub-region had increased significantly over the last decade due to increased borrowing for development and responses to global shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic. It further clarified that Nigeria's total debt stock comprised domestic and external debts of the Federal Government, as well as those of the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory.
Meanwhile, a Development Economist, Prof. Ken Ife, suggested that adherence to extant fiscal responsibility law would help moderate government borrowing and reduce Nigeria's debt profile. He stressed the importance of borrowing for economic growth rather than consumption, cautioning against deepening exposure to debt and increasing fiscal deficit.
Financial Expert Uche Uwaleke, director of the Institute of Capital Market Studies at Nasarawa State University, Keffi, noted that the country's rising debt profile was the direct result of low domestic resource mobilisation. He attributed this to the weak structure of the economy, which heavily relies on revenues tied to the international crude oil market. Uwaleke explained that while government borrowing can help address Nigeria's infrastructure gap, it becomes unsustainable when debt service ratios are high, leading to critical sectors like education and health being deprived of necessary funds.