The Federal Government of Nigeria borrowed about $3.27 billion from five nations between June 30, 2015, and September 30, 2022. According to information from the Debt Management Office’s external loans reports, Nigeria’s borrowings from the five nations increased during the period by 206.96%, from $1.58 billion in June 2015 to $4.85 billion by September 2022. China, France, Japan, India, and Germany are the five nations.
By September 2022, Nigeria owed China $4.09 billion, increasing the bilateral debt profile.” Nigeria’s local currency unit is expected to lose more ground next year, according to the Bank of America, as its current exchange rate to the dollar is significantly higher than its fair value.
“Reacting, the Director-General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Olusola Obadimu, said that while recourse to loans is not entirely bad for any economy, the issue of accountability has often cast a doubt as to how effectively the Nigerian government channels funds obtained through loans.
On the Federal Government’s claim that most of the bilateral loans were used to finance rail-related projects in the country, Obadimu said the merit of these projects had been dead on arrival due to the insecurity threat that hovers around rail transportation in the country.