Nigeria’s debt is increasing becoming a source of concern for everyone, including the World Bank.
Indeed, Nigeria is richly blessed with natural resources yet her economy has nothing to show for it.
In fact, statistics are showing figures that are not so palatable where the economy is concerned.
Unfortunately, Nigeria had in time past squandered and mismanaged her resources like the biblical prodigal son.
Today, economists say the nation is becoming a “beggar”, with generating revenue appearing like it is rocket science.
After a critical assessment of Nigeria’s economy, the World Bank has revealed that Nigeria spends 96.3% of government revenue on servicing debt in 2022.
Read Also: Make e-Naira Policy Acceptable Outside Nigeria, VC Tells CBN
The World Bank in it’s Macro Poverty Outlook for Nigeria: April 2023 brief released over the weekend stated that the country spends ₦96 out of every ₦100 of its revenue to service its debt.
The report also highlighted that the fiscal deficit breached the stipulated limit for the federal fiscal deficit.
Hampered Economic Growth
Part of the report reads: “The fiscal position deteriorated. In 2022, the cost of the petrol subsidy increased from 0.7% to 2.3%t GDP.
“Low non-oil revenues and high-interest payments compounded fiscal pressures.
“The fiscal deficit was estimated at 5.0% of GDP in 2022, breaching the stipulated limit for federal fiscal deficit of 3%.
“This has kept the public debt stock at over 38% of GDP and pushed the debt service to revenue ratio from 83.2% in 2021 to 96.3% in 2022”.
Also in the brief, World Bank revealed that the cash scarcity created by the CBN’s Naira redesign policy hampered the country’s economic growth and poverty reduction efforts.
It also projected that about 13 million Nigerians would become poor between 2019 and 2025.
It noted that “Nigeria is in a more fragile position than before the late 2021 global oil price boom.
“Growth and poverty reduction have further been affected by cash scarcity in the context of the Naira redesign.
You Can Also Read: Bayern Munich ‘Will Try EVERYTHING’ To Sell Mane This Summer
“The economy is projected to grow by an average of 2.9% per year between 2023 and 2025, only slightly above the population growth rate of 2.4%.
“Growth will be driven by services, trade, and manufacturing.
“Oil production is projected to remain subdued in part because of inefficiencies and insecurity.
“With Nigeria’s population growth continuing to outpace poverty reduction and persistently high inflation, the number of Nigerians living below the national poverty line will rise by 13 million between 2019 and 2025 in the baseline projection”.
