CBN concerns over debt profile

Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has lent its voice to the call by some Nigerian finance experts, who had raised concerns over the country’s high debt stock and cautioned the Nigerian Government against the rising debt level in the country.
The committee warned after its meeting that except the Nigerian Government came up with measures to address the country’s debt level, Nigeria’s debt burden might rise up to the pre-2005 Paris Club level.
In October 2005, Nigeria and the Paris Club announced a final agreement for debt relief worth $18 billion and an overall reduction of Nigeria’s debt stock by $30 billion.
The deal was completed on April 21, 2006, when Nigeria made its final payment and its books were cleared of any Paris Club debt.
According to the report by Nigeria’s Punch newspaper on Wednesday, Nigeria’s debt profile as of June 30, 2018, was $22.08 billion.
It noted that key government officials in the Economic Management Team of the government had on many occasions in the past defended the country’s debt level, arguing that it was still sustainable.
The report recalled that Nigeria’s Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, had said last week when he was asked if Nigerians should worry about the country’s debt status, that the country was not in .any form of danger,
Osinbajo noted that every country in the world that wants to make progress borrows money and “our debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is one of the lowest in the world”.