Nigeria’s debt to hit N38.68trn by Dec 2021

 

The Federal Government on Tuesday disclosed that Nigeria’s debt profile will rise from N31 trillion it was as at June this year to N38.68 trillion by December 31, 2021.

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed disclosed this at the budget defence session opened by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt at the National Assembly, Abuja.

Speaking before the Senator Clifford Ordia, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Edo Central led Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Zainab Ahmed said that abandonment of projects across the country will be averted if it was possible for the Federal Government to take just take one or two projects at a time and complete it before going to the next one.

The Minister said,

“The total public debt stock comprising the external and domestic debts of the Federal and State Governments and the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT) , which stood at N31.01trillion as at June 30, 2020, is based on existing approvals, to rise to N38.68trillion by December 31, 2021.”

The Minister who noted that the 2021 Appropriation Bill has a provision of N3.124 .38trillion for debt service out of which N2.183, however, explained some of the projections made for the N12.6trillion 2021 budget, adding that the current Sukuk fund which is N162 billion is for 45 roads cutting across the six geopolitical zones.

She said:

“The current Sukuk fund is N162 billion is for 45 roads cutting across the six geopolitical zones.

“I’m one person that feels that we should just do this and take one major road in one geopolitical zone and finish. We were not able to do that because of the processes in which appropriation is made both at the executive as well as the legislative arms of government.

“But truly, of we were able to just take one or two projects at a time and complete it before going to the next one, it will be better.

“So what the contractor does is the bit that has been cut out for him to do in that particular area. Once the fund is released and it is finished, we stop again. That is the consequence of these numerous projects that we put in the budget. It is not related to Sukuk-funded projects alone, it cuts across all the projects.

“You will see a road that costs, maybe, N5 billion, and you will see a provision for N100m, N200m or 300m. Of course, the project will never finish. After two years, the contractor comes back and asks for variation, and the amount keeps growing.

“I wish that we get to a point when we sit down as government and agree that let us select a few projects, finish them in 2020, and then in 2021, we select the next. So that on a geopolitical basis, those selections are done as a collective process.”