Business

Debt Servicing Rose By 14.68% In 2022 – DMO

Published

3 years ago

April 9, 2023

Nigeria’s debt servicing bill went up by 14.68 per cent to N3.36trn in 2022, data from the Debt Management Office has shown.

According to DMO, N2.93tn was spent on external and domestic debt servicing payments in 2021.

Recall that the DMO had earlier reported that Nigeria’s total debt stock stood at N46.25 trillion as of December 2022.

An analysis of DMO showed that the country spent $2.4bn which was equivalent to N1.07 trillion using the current exchange rate of $/N460 to service its external debt last year.

Domestic debt servicing gulped N2.56tn in 2022, with the highest expenditures of N529.88 billion recorded in April.

The PUNCH reports that debt servicing under the President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) regime has maintained an upward trend since 2016.

In 2016, a total of N1.23tn was spent to service the country’s domestic debts. The figure for domestic debt servicing rose to N1.48tn in 2017.

In 2018, the country’s domestic debt servicing bill rose to N1.8tn while the cost of domestic debt servicing came down a bit in 2019 to N1.69tn.

In 2020, debt servicing rose again to N1.85tn. By 2021, domestic debt servicing rose to N2.05tn

On the other hand, external debt servicing gulped $353.09m in 2016. It went up to $464.05m in 2017 and jumped up to $1.47bn in 2018.

In 2019, the country spent $1.33bn on external debt servicing. In 2020, external debt servicing gulped $1.56bn. By 2021, it became N2.93tn.

The amount spent on external debt servicing was calculated using the CBN’s exchange rate for the year. For instance, the naira-dollar average exchange rates for 2016 and 2017 were N197 and N305 respectively. It was N305 in 2018 and N360 in 2019. It closed at N380 and N420 in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Reacting, The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry expressed worry over the country’s debt burden, especially in the face of stunted revenue growth, the large presence of decaying infrastructure and the unsustainable burden of oil subsidy overhang.

In a statement on Thursday, the chamber said the ratio of debt service to government revenue at about 90 per cent remained alarming and unsustainable.

It said both capital and interest payments on borrowed sums exposed the country’s fiscal vulnerabilities and that the government should, as a matter of urgency, emphasise strategies for revenue growth while blocking leakages.

The chamber further advised the government to shift focus to equity financing, divestment or shedding of its equity holdings in state-owned enterprises, real estate, and infrastructure to reduce its debt commitments and improve its fiscal situation.

Also, The International Monetary Fund warned that debt servicing might gulp 100 per cent of the Federal Government’s revenue by 2026 if the government fails to implement adequate measures to improve revenue generation.

Business

Naira Records Second Consecutive Depreciation Against US Dollar

Published

4 days ago

November 12, 2025

Editor

The Naira recorded its second consecutive depreciation against the United States dollar at the foreign exchange market on Tuesday to continue the bearish trend this week.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s data showed that the Naira further weakened on Tuesday to N1,438.71 against the dollar, down from N1,437.2933 exchanged on Monday.

This means that the Naira again dropped by N1.42 against the dollar on Tuesday on a day-to-day basis.

At the black market, the Naira remained flat at N1465 per dollar on Tuesday, the same rate traded on Monday.

This is the second consecutive decline of Nigerian currency at the official market since the commencement of this week.

Meanwhile, the country’s external reserves had continued to rise, standing at $43.37 billion as of Monday, 10th November 2025, up from $43.35 billion on November 7.

Business

Tinubu Approves 15% Import Duty On Petrol, Diesel

Published

2 weeks ago

October 30, 2025

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has approved a 15 percent ad-valorem import duty on diesel and premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.

This was announced in a letter dated October 21, 2025, where the private secretary to the president, Damilotun Aderemi, conveyed Tinubu’s approval to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Tinubu gave his approval, following a request by the FIRS to apply the 15 percent duty on the cost, insurance and freight (CIF) to align import costs to domestic realities.

With the approval, the implementation of the import duty will increase a litre of petrol by an estimated N99.72 kobo.

The latest development has led to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announcing that it has begun a detailed review of the country’s three petroleum refineries, with a view to bringing them back online.

NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Bayo Ojulari, made the announcement in a post on his official X handle on Wednesday night.

According to Ojulari, one of the options being explored by the NNPCL is to search for technical equity partners to ‘high-grade or repurpose’ the facilities.

Tagged: “Update on Our Refineries”, Ojulari said: “The NNPCL continues to remain optimistic that the refineries will operate efficiently, despite current setbacks.”

It can be recalled that despite spending about $3 billion on revamping the refineries, only the 60,000 barrels per day portion of the facility worked skeletally for just a few months before packing up.

The Warri refinery has remained ineffective weeks after it was gleefully announced to have returned to production, while the one situated in Kaduna State never took off at all.

Business

NNPCL Raises Fuel Price

Published

1 month ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has increased the pump price of petrol from ₦865 to ₦992 per litre, marking a fresh hike that has sparked widespread concern among motorists and consumers .

As of the time of filing this report, the company has not released any official statement explaining the reason for the sudden adjustment.

During visits to several NNPC retail outlets, The Nation observed fuel attendants recalibrating their pumps to reflect the new price.

At NNPC filling station on Ogunusi road, Ojodu Berger, petrol attendants at the station said they were instructed to change the price to reflect the new rate N992 per litre.

However, checks at Ibafo along the Lagos /Ibadan expressway showed that NNPC outlets still displayed the old price of N875 per litre, although they were not selling to commuters.

Most of the NNPC stations were not dispensing fuel.