Forget Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode’s second term ambition, the big news is that Lagos owes N1.04 trillion. What that means is that the incoming governor in 2019, whether it be the incumbent or the numerous others jostling for the position, will inherit debt totalling N1.04 trillion and still counting.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Lagos’ total debt profile rose to N1.04 trillion in the second quarter of the year.
The NBS report on Nigerian Domestic and Foreign Debt in the second quarter has revealed that Lagos’ domestic debt profile stands at N519.37 billion, while its total foreign debt is $1,451,639,937.86 (N522.59 billion).
Of the $1,451,639,937.86 foreign debt, multilateral debt accounted for $1,307,809,937.86 and bilateral debt, $143,830,000.00.
The state’s external debt accounted for 34.17% of the nation’s external debt profile, which stood at $22.08bn, while its domestic debt profile accounted for 14.88% of the nation’s domestic debt profile, standing at N3.48trn.
However, the NBS report revealed that the Nigerian States and Federal Debt Stock data as at June 30, 2018 reflected that the country’s foreign and domestic debts, which stood at $22.08 billion and N3.48 trillion, respectively.
“Lagos State has the highest foreign debt profile among the 36 states and the FCT accounting for 34.17% while Edo (6.57%), Kaduna (5.48%), Cross River (4.56%) and Bauchi (3.18%) followed closely.
“Similarly, total domestic debt was N3.48 trillion with Lagos state accounting for 14.88 % of the total domestic debt stock while Anambra State has the least debt in this category with a contribution 0.08% to the total domestic debt stock,” the report stated.
N1.04 trillion should give everyone cause for concern more than anything else in the world.