Lagos Tops List Of Highly Indebted States With N780b Debt

By Tosin Olatokunbo

The Debt Management Office, DMO, has revealed that Lagos State tops the list of debtors among the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.  Lagos owes a staggering total debt stock of N780 billion.

As Nigeria’s biggest economy and Africa’s fifth, successive administrations in the state have borrowed largely to fund critical infrastructure, even though the state generates more revenue than other states.

According to the DMO, the domestic debt stock of the 36 states in Nigeria, including the FCT, rose to N4.84 trillion in the first quarter of 2022.  Lagos is on top with 16 per cent of the total debt stocks.

The Centre of Excellence as the state is called,  is closely followed by Ogun and Rivers States  which have a combined debt of N450 billion representing close to 10 per cent of debts owed by all the States.

According to the figure provided by the DMO, Imo State recorded a domestic debt stock of N204.61 billion, while Akwa Ibom recorded a domestic debt of N203.11 billion.

Others include Delta (N163.48 billion), Cross River (N158.93 billion), Plateau (N152.1 billion), Bayelsa (N151.41 billion), and Oyo State (N141.19 billion).

The Domestic Debt Stock of Lagos State surged by N273.1 billion from N507.38 billion recorded as of March 2021 to N780.48 billion in March 2022. Ogun State increased its debt stock from N156.34 billion to N241.98 billion in the same period.

Earlier in the week, the DMO had revealed that the Federal Government’s total debt has risen to over N41 trillion.

Combined with debt owed by the 36 states in the Federation and FCT, the nation’s total debt currently stands at over N45 trillion.

In a statement released last week, the DMO said the sudden increase in Federal Government’s debt was spurred by the need to finance the 2022 Budget Deficit, the $1.25 billion eurobond issued in March 2022, and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.

“The total public debt stock as at March 31, 2022, was N41.60tn or $100.07 billion.

“The amount represents the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the thirty-six state governments, and the FCT.

“The comparative figures for December 31, 2021, were N39.56tn or $95.78billion,” DMO said.