TheCable

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has faulted the projection of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Nigeria may spend 92.6 percent of its revenue on debt servicing in 2022.

The IMF’s projection is contained in its recently released 2021 Article IV consultation report on Nigeria.

Agusto and Co, a credit rating agency, also forecasted that the figure will be around 90 percent.

Reacting in a statement posted on its official Facebook page on Saturday, the DMO said while Nigeria’s debt and debt service levels may have grown over the years, the reports of the two bodies failed to consider the challenges experienced by the country in recent times.

It listed the challenges to include two recessions, sharp drop in revenue and security challenges.

“Even more, the analyses do not acknowledge the improvements in infrastructure which have been achieved through borrowing, as well as the strong measures by the Government to grow revenues,” the statement reads.

The debt management agency said the federal government is already implementing policies towards increasing revenue generation and developing infrastructure through public-private partnership arrangements.

According to the DMO, these two efforts of the government will improve debt sustainability.

The agency added that the federal government had active and regular engagements with the IMF on borrowing and debt management.