The ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) has expressed concern that Nigeria debt service ratio will peak from current 101.5 percent in 2022 to 121percent of the revenue by 2023 ending.
The AAN Country Director, Ene Obi, said this on Tuesday in Abuja at a one-day “Technical Roundtable on Economic Agenda Setting for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration”, organised by ActionAid Nigeria, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) and Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC).
She, however, noted that international best practices prescribed that debt service to revenue ratio should not be more than 20 percent of export earnings or 30 percent of revenue of low income countries.
Obi, who was represented by Mrs Suweba Dakwabo said: “The bulk of Nigeria’s retained revenue is devoted to debt service as in 2021 the retained revenue was N4.64trn while the debt service was N4.22trn.
“The Buhari Administration inherited a debt profile of N12.18trn in May/June 2015 and left office in May 2023 with debt stock of more than N70trn, giving an addition of not less than N58trn under a space of eight years,” she said.
On her part, the Director General of Debt Management Office (DMO), Ms Patience Oniha, stressed the need for less focus on Nigeria’s debt burden and more attention on increasing revenue generation.