Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has refuted claims by VP-elect Yemi Osinbajo that the outgoing administration owes $60billion in local and foreign debts.
Speaking with finance correspondents, Okonjo-Iweala said that the nation’s current debt stock stands at $63.7 billion and it encompasses domestic and multilateral loans by all the federal and state governments since 1960. She said various states of the federation accounted for 20% of the nation’s total debt stock.
Of the $63.7 billion debt, the minister said $9.7 billion or 15% is external while $54 billion or 85 per cent represents domestic debt. She said between 2007 and 2011, a debt of $17.3 billion debt was recorded while between 2012 and 2015, the debt stood at $18.1 billion.
