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 N49.85 trillion in the first quarter of 2023 to N87.38 trillion at the end of the second quarter of 2023.
According to NBS, the domestic debt as of the end of June 2023 was N54.13 trillion ($70,264.58 million), while external debt stood at N33.25 trillion ($43,159.19 million).
According to the data bureau, Lagos state recorded the highest domestic debt in Q2 2023 with N996.44 billion, followed by Delta with N465.40 billion, while Jigawa state recorded the lowest domestic debt with N43.13 billion, followed by Kebbi with N60.94 billion.
An analysis of Nigeria’s public debt stock released by NBS and done by ICIR showed that each Nigerian currently owes N396,376.19 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 N396,376.19 in terms of debt per capital just for being a Nigerian living under poor successive political leadership. Sad.”