‘Sad’ – Atiku’s Aide Reacts As Nigeria’s Public Debt Hits ₦87 Trillion

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Daniel Bwala, has reacted to a rise in the country’s total public debt.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the country’s total public debt increased by 75.27 per cent from ₦49.85 trillion in the first quarter of 2023 to ₦87.38 trillion at the end of the second quarter of 2023.

According to NBS, the domestic debt as of the end of June 2023 was ₦54.13 trillion ($70,264.58 million), while external debt stood at ₦33.25 trillion ($43,159.19 million).

According to the data bureau, Lagos state recorded the highest domestic debt in Q2 2023 with ₦996.44 billion, followed by Delta with ₦465.40 billion, while Jigawa state recorded the lowest domestic debt with ₦43.13 billion, followed by Kebbi with ₦60.94 billion.

An analysis of Nigeria’s public debt stock released by NBS and done by ICIR showed that each Nigerian currently owes ₦396,376.19 in terms of debt per capita.

Reacting to the development in a post via his X handle on Monday, Bwala said it is said that a Nigerian owes N396 million in terms of debt per capita just for living under poor successive political leadership.

He wrote: “Imagine, as a Nigerian, you owe ₦396,376.19 in terms of debt per capital just for being a Nigerian living under poor successive political leadership. Sad.”