As President Bola Tinubu prepares to present the 2025 national budget to the National Assembly, the Federal Government is poised to significantly overshoot its domestic borrowing target for 2024 by N4 trillion, representing a 67% increase from the initial budget projection.
The escalating borrowing comes despite widespread concerns about the nation’s mounting debt burden. Preliminary data reveals that the government has already borrowed N8.93 trillion from domestic investors in the first eleven months of 2024, compared to the planned N6 trillion for the entire year. Current borrowing trends suggest that total borrowing could reach N10 trillion by year-end.
This borrowing surge coincides with the government’s plans for the 2025 budget, which aims to finance a deficit of N9.22 trillion through domestic and external borrowings. This represents an 18% increase from the N7.808 trillion deficit in 2024.
According to the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, the 2025 budget deficit will be financed through:
– New domestic and foreign borrowings of N9.22 trillion
– N312.33 billion from privatization proceeds
– N3.55 trillion in drawdowns on existing multilateral and bilateral project-tied loans
Detailed borrowing breakdown shows that in the third quarter of 2024, the government borrowed N2.134 trillion through various instruments:
– Nigeria Treasury Bills (NTBs): N1.181 trillion
– FGN Bonds: N939.246 billion
– FGN Savings Bonds: N14 billion
The Debt Management Office (DMO) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data also highlight significant growth in domestic debt. In the first half of 2024, the Federal Government’s domestic debt stock increased by 38.6% to N66.957 trillion from N48.314 trillion in the same period in 2023.
Borrowing composition in the first half of 2024 included:
– NTBs: N11.8 trillion (17.64% of total borrowing)
– Monthly FGN Bond auctions: N52.315 trillion (78.13% of total)
– Sukuk Bonds: N1.092 trillion (1.6% of total)
– FGN Savings Bonds: N55.196 billion (0.08% of total)
The significant increase in borrowing raises questions about the government’s fiscal strategy and long-term economic sustainability. Newsscroll.
