24/01/2025
That figure of N12trn under GEJ is misleading and factually incorrect is not correct.
Despite the fact that OBJ secured debt relief for Nigerian he still left some debt stock behind and by the time GEJ handed over to Muhammadu Buhari, the Federal Government component of the debt stood at $7.3bn but don't forget that exchange rate was N197/$.
DEBT PROFILE UNDER JONATHAN’S ADMINISTRATION
At the beginning of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure in 2011, the federal government had an accumulated debt of N6.17 trillion.
Analysis of the debt figure showed that local debt amounted to N5.62 trillion while foreign debt stood at $3.5 billion (about N548.65 billion, using the exchange rate of N156.7/$1).
Advertisement
By the end of 2015, the foreign debt component hit $7.3 billion, while domestic debt increased by N8.4 trillion. The country’s exchange rate also stood at N197/$1.
Overall, the federal government component of the total public debt increased from N6.17 trillion in 2011 to N9.8 trillion in 2015, representing an increase of N3.63 trillion or 58.8 percent.
public debt
YAR’ADUA/JONATHAN’S BORROWINGS
Under the Umar Musa Yar’Adua/Goodluck Jonathan-led government between 2007 and 2011, domestic debt of the federal government moved from N2.17 trillion to N5.62 trillion. The foreign component of the debt also increased from $2.11 billion to $3.5 billion within the period.
The country’s exchange rate also moved from N116.8/$1 to N156.7/$1.
The combined debt profile increased from N2.42 trillion to N6.17 trillion in four years, representing a 155 percent jump.
Of the debt figure, Jonathan completed the tenure from May 2010 to May 2011 after the death of Yar’Adua. The period saw a surge in the federal government’s debt from N4.94 trillion to N6.17 trillion. This represents a 24.9 percent increase in one year.
OLUSEGUN OBASANJO’S TENURE
During the tenure of former president Olusegun Obasanjo, the debt level of the federal government reduced from N3.55 trillion in 1999 to N2.42 trillion at the end of 2007.
The 8-year term of Obasanjo resulted in a dip in FG’s local and foreign debt level, representing a 31.8 percent decline.
The country’s exchange rate was between N98.02 to N116.8 to a dollar during the tenure.
Analysis of the figures showed that external debt decreased from $28.04 billion by 1999 to $2.11 billion at the end of 2007. However, the domestic component increased from N798 billion to N2.17 trillion within the same period.
The huge decline in foreign debt was a result of the substantial reduction following the pay-off of the outstanding debts owed to the London Clubs of Creditors in the first quarter of 2007.
BUHARI, NIGERIA’S BIGGEST BORROWER, VIOLATING FINANCIAL LAWS
So far, Buhari is the country’s biggest borrower, increasing public debt (FG component) by more than 173 percent. Next to the Buhari government is the Yar’Adua/Jonathan administration with a 155 percent surge in borrowing.
The current government violates important financial laws in the country — the Fiscal Responsibility Act, and the CBN Act 2007.
Last year, the government exceeded the fiscal borrowing threshold as stipulated in the fiscal act.
Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, admitted to this on the grounds that COVID-19 was good enough reason to breach the act.
The fiscal responsibility law provides a limit of three percent debt threshold for sustainability, but the president can “exceed the ceiling if there is a clear and present threat to national security or sovereignty of Nigeria”.
In 2020, the country’s budget deficit was at about four percent of GDP, clearly breaking the law.
On overdraft, section 38, sub-section 1 and 2, of the CBN Act, said, “the Bank may grant temporary advances to the Federal Government in respect of temporary deficiency of budget revenue” and “the total amount of such advances outstanding shall not at any time exceed 5 percent of the previous year’s actual revenue of the Federal Government”.
By the end of 2020, CBN overdrafts to the Buhari government exceeded the limit by 69 percent of the revenue generated in 2019 – in a blatant violation of the apex bank rules. The government’s revenue in the year was N4.1 trillion, and overdraft stood at N2.9 trillion.
Also, Nigeria’s borrowing limit as a percent of GDP stood at 34.8 percent in 2020, well above 25 percent for the year. Earlier this year, the federal executive council (FEC) had strategically raised the borrowing limit to 40 percent in its Medium-term debt management strategy for Nigeria for the period 2020-2023.
TheCable
© 2024 TheCable. All Rights Reserved.
