Nigeria’s total public debt rose to N28.62 trillion ($79.5 billion) as of March, up 15 per cent from a year earlier, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Friday.
Nigeria has been racking up debt to fund infrastructure projects and boost a sluggish economy now projected to fall into recession following the impact of an oil price crash triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Total public debt stood at 24.94 trillion naira in the first quarter of 2019.
Nigeria had a series of debt issues lined up this year before the collapse in oil prices, the country’s main export, forcing the government to shelve foreign commercial borrowing.
