For every N100 revenue in 2022, Nigeria will spend N93 on debt servicing, IMF warns

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted a difficult 2022 for the Nigerian economy, owing to the rise of the dollar against the naira and weak revenue.

According to IMF, these changes will result in 92.6 per cent of revenue going into debt servicing.

IMF projection is contained in its 2021 Article IV, which was released on Monday evening.

The report projects Nigeria’s public debt to grow by 117.8 per cent on a year-on-year basis in 2022, just as inflation is to grow at an average rate of 14.3 per cent.

IMF also expects the country’s revenues and grants in the year to cap at seven per cent of total output.

Last year’s rate was estimated at 7.4 per cent, which is much higher than the 6.3 per cent achieved in 2020.

Read also: AfDB boss, Adesina, says Nigeria has a problem, as debt servicing gulps N3.34trn from N3.42trn revenue

Part of the report reads: “economy is recovering from a historic downturn benefitting from government policy support, rising oil prices and international financial assistance.”

The IMF also stated that insecurity and a lack of COVID-19 vaccination were significant obstacles impeding the country’s economic progress, emphasizing that “worsening violence and instability might also undermine the recovery.”

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