International Monetary Fund (IMF) allayed fears that the country was on the verge of sliding into a debt trap, saying Nigeria’s debt level is “moderate and not high risk”.
IMF’s First Deputy Managing Director, Gita Gopinath, said this during an exclusive interview with THISDAY in Lagos.
During a meeting with Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, in his office in Abuja, Gopinath acknowledged the economic challenges currently facing Nigeria.
He underscored the need for the federal government to embrace targeted social interventions.
In another development, the federal government announced the achievement of 6,003 megawatts (mw) peak power generation, the highest electricity generation ever recorded in the country.
Nigeria’s total public debt had risen to N142.3 trillion as of September 30, 2024, compared to N134.3 trillion in June 2024.
The rise in the country’s debt level (external and domestic) was as a result of the exchange rate devaluation.
Data from the Debt Management Office had shown that external debt in dollar terms increased marginally from $42.90 billion in June to $43.03 billion in September in naira terms, while external debt rose by 9.22 per cent, from N63.07 trillion to N68.89 trillion in the comparable period.
