States domestic debts soar to N1.4 trn . Lagos, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, FCT top list States domestic debt profile rise to N1.445 trillion in the last two years, with Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Cross Rivers as the biggest debtors. Official data analysed by Daily Trust shows that the states domestic debt outline rose by 17.19 percent in the last 24 months. Records posted on the Debt Management Office (DMO) website shows Lagos and oil- producing Niger Delta states as the biggest domestic debtors in the country. The record placed Lagos, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, Delta and the FCT as the biggest internal debtors among the 36 states in the country and the Federal Capital Territory. Data as at December 2013 show that the top internal debtors are Lagos (N278 billion), Rivers (N129 billion), Akwa Ibom (N125 billion), Cross Rivers (N116 billion) and Delta (106 billion). But the total domestic debts profile of the states and FCT as at December 2011 was N1.233 trillion, according to DMO records. But the internal debt figures soared to N1.445 trillion by December 2013, representing an increase of about 17.19 percent. The domestic debts comprised commercial bank loans, state bonds, contractors’ arrears, arrears on pensions and gratuities, salary arrears, other staff claims and other liabilities including judgment debts. However due to their debt profiles many states lose large chunk of their statutory monthly Federation allocations to debt service deductions, leaving small amounts for fresh projects. The least indebted states, according to the records, are Katsina (N270 million), Kebbi (N853 million), Yobe (N1.1 billion), Jigawa (N1.6 billion) and Anambra (N3 billion). Plateau tops the list of the biggest domestic debtors in the North with N52 billion. It is followed by Kano (N32 billion), Nasarawa (N28.8 billion), Zamfara (N28.2 billion), Gombe (N27 billion), Benue (N24 billion), Borno (N23 billion) and Kwara (N22 billion). States with above N10 billion domestic debts are Adamawa (N15 billion), Bauchi (N16 billion), Ebonyi (N13 billion), Enugu (N12 billion), Imo (N12 billion), Oyo (N19 billion) and Taraba (N13 billion). Others include Abia (N31 billion), Edo (N48 billion), Kaduna (N9 billion), Kogi (N7 billion), Ogun (N58 billion), Ondo (N30 billion), Osun (N41 billion), Oyo (N19 billion) and Sokoto (N5 billion). There were no records of domestic debts stocks for Bayelsa and Ekiti states in the latest DMO data. These figures do not include domestic debts incurred by many states through bonds and other instruments from January to date. On the other hand, the foreign debts profile of the 36 states and FCT was N489 billion ($3 billion) as at June. Of the $3 billion external debt, $2.9 billion is multi-lateral while the remaining $108 million in bilateral loan. Though the DMO said in 2012 the states’ debts are still within the World Bank debts threshold sustainability ratio of 250 percent, they are apparently taking a toll on the states. According to the DMO’s 2014 Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA), Nigeria “still remains at low risk of debt distress.”
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 23:33:49 +0000
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