House of Representatives has expressed concern over N3.3 Trillion domestic Debt as presented by the Debt Management Office DMO of the Federation.
The Chairman House Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt management Alhaji Ahmad Dayyabu Safana, made the statement when the Director General DMO appeared before the committee to defend the 2023 budget proposal.
Alhaji Ahmad Safana, described it as worrisome that there was a one trillion Naira increase in the debt profile of the nation last year, urging the office as a relevant sector to halt the frequency of borrowings.
In her presentation, the Director General of the Debit Management Office DMO, Mrs Patience Oniha, told the committee that the domestic debt profile of Nigeria at the time of defending the budget stood at N3.685 trillion.
She explained that the domestic debt profile of the country was rising to N3.3 trillion in 2023 due to high-interest rates in the borrowed funds from domestic and international sources of funding.
The Director General also noted that borrowing was a collective responsibility of the three arms of government stressing the need for the parliament to look at borrowing funds from a macro-economic perspective.
A member of the committee from Anambra State, Mr Emeka Azubogu, argued that borrowings by government at any level must be tied to specific projects and demanded details of the N3.55 trillion earmarked for borrowing in the 2023 budget.
The committee members also directed the DMO to submit to the panel the details of assets sold, payments made and outstanding debts owed to the agency under privatisation.
COV /TSIBIRI