No fewer than 13 state governments have projected an Internally Generated Revenue of N613bn for 2025.
The states also planned to secure fresh loans totaling N380bn in the upcoming year, Saturday PUNCH’s investigation has revealed.
This comes despite a 40 per cent increase in the states’ statutory allocations from the Federation Account.
In the first half of 2024, about 22 states collectively borrowed N446bn, with debt servicing consuming a significant portion of their IGR.
These loans have pushed the total debt stock of Nigerian states to N11.47tn as of June 30, 2024.
An analysis of public debt reports from the Debt Management Office (DMO) shows a 14.57 per cent increase from the N10.01tn recorded in December 2023.
The increase was primarily driven by a sharp rise in external debt, and exacerbated by the naira’s devaluation.
External debt for the states and the Federal Capital Territory climbed from $4.61bn to $4.89bn, reflecting a 6.14 per cent increase, while domestic debt saw a significant decline of 27.12 per cent, dropping from N5.86tn to N4.27tn.
In naira terms, however, foreign debt surged by a staggering 73.46 per cent, rising from N4.15tn to N7.2tn, following the devaluation of the naira from N899.39/$1 in December 2023 to N1,470.19/$1 by June 2024.
States and the FCT accounted for 8.54 per cent of Nigeria’s total public debt of N134.3tn as of June 2024, down from 10.29 per cent in December 2023, despite an increase in their nominal debt levels.
According to their 2025-2027 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Papers, 13 states plan to borrow a combined total of N380bn to finance budget deficits in 2025.
These states include Adamawa, Kano, Anambra, Bauchi, Borno, Ebonyi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom, Niger, and Oyo.
Adamawa, which did not take any loans this year, plans to borrow N31.5bn next year while projecting an IGR of N22.7bn.
This was as Kano, which borrowed N6.4bn in the first half of 2024, projects fresh borrowings of N11bn and an IGR of N47.5bn for 2025.
Anambra targets a financing estimate of N18.5bn, including loans sourced through fundraising activities.
Despite taking loans of N19.2bn this year, Bauchi States also plans to take fresh loans of N71bn, with an IGR target of N47.2bn.
Borno borrowed N20bn this year but plans to raise N53bn through loans next year, targeting N30bn in IGR.
Similarly, Niger State borrowed N34bn in 2024 and projects N31bn in loans next year, with an IGR target of N74bn.
Other loan projections include N35bn for Kebbi, N11.6bn for Kaduna, N8.5bn for Akwa Ibom, N13bn for Ebonyi, N8bn for Jigawa, N76.8bn for Oyo, and N11.7bn for Gombe. Their respective IGR targets for 2025 are N25.5bn, N68bn, N62bn, N26.5bn, N65.9bn, N67bn, and N6.8bn.
An economic expert, Paul Alaje, recently warned that debt servicing and accumulating loans could stifle economic development at the sub-national level.
He emphasised that the significant debts inherited from previous administrations have hindered growth and stressed the need for thorough scrutiny of state borrowing practices and the projects financed with these loans.
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