REPORTS - South-West tops domestic debtors’ list with N1.04tn

The South -West has more domestic debt than other regions of the country .

Statistics obtained from the Debt Management Office on Monday showed that the geopolitical zone was exposed to a domestic debt of N1 . 04tn as of March 31.

The statistics also showed that the six geopolitical zones of the country were exposed to a total domestic debt of N3 . 97tn as of March 31 .

This means that the South -West geopolitical zone of the country accounts for 26. 2 per cent of the country ’ s total subnational domestic debt .

The geopolitical zone is made up of six states – Ondo , Ogun , Oyo , Ekiti , Lagos and Osun . Lagos , the commercial capital of the country accounts for much of the indebtedness of the zone as it has domestic debt of N542 . 23bn .

Thus , the state, which is the largest subnational economy in the country , accounts for 51. 92 per cent of the domestic debt owed by the six states in the South -West .

Osun State with N147 . 7 bn accounts for 14 . 2 per cent of the indebtedness of the South -West region while Ekiti State with N118 . 01 bn accounts for 11. 35 per cent of the domestic debt owed by the South- West geopolitical zone .

Ogun State accounts for 9 . 34 per cent of the domestic indebtedness of the region with a total of N97. 09 bn while Oyo with N94. 14bn accounts for 9 . 03 per cent of the domestic debt of the region.

Ondo which has the least domestic debt in the region accounts for 5 . 48 per cent with N56 . 96bn .

The South- South region has a domestic debt burden of N949 . 4 bn . This accounts for 23 . 91 per cent of the country ’ s subnational domestic debt .

Among the six states that make up the South -South region, Rivers State has the highest domestic debt . It has a domestic debt of N225 . 59bn and therefore accounts for 23 . 76 per cent of the regional domestic debt .

Delta State with N233 . 44 bn accounts for 23 . 53 per cent of the domestic debt burden of the region. Akwa Ibom with N199 . 77bn accounts for 21 . 04 per cent while Cross River with N167 . 25 bn accounts for 17 . 62 per cent .

Bayelsa State with N133 . 34 bn accounts for 14 . 04 per cent while Edo State, the least indebted state in the region accounts for 9 . 1 per cent of the domestic debt commitment of the South -South region.

The North -Central region comprising Kwara , Kogi, Nasarawa , Niger , Plateau and Benue States as well as the Federal Capital Territory has a domestic debt burden of N648 . 63 bn , accounting for 16. 34 per cent of the country ’ s subnational domestic debt .

The FCT Administration has a debt of N163 . 52 bn , accounting for 25. 21 per cent of the North -Central ’ s domestic debt . Plateau State accounts for 15. 2 per cent of the regional domestic debt while Benue State with N96. 91bn accounts 14 . 94 per cent .

Kogi State with N96 . 68 bn accounts for 14 . 91 per cent ; Nasarawa State with N89. 95bn accounts for 13 . 87 per cent ; Kwara State with N59. 58bn accounts for 9 . 19 per cent while the least burdened state, Niger , accounts for 6 . 69 per cent of the region’ s domestic debt with N43. 41bn .

The North -West comprising Kano , Kaduna , Katsina , Kebbi , Sokoto, Zamfara and Jigawa States has a domestic debt burden of N485 . 39 bn , accounting for 12. 23 per cent of subnational local debt .

In the region, Kano has the highest domestic debt burden of N121 . 31 bn accounting for 24 . 99 per cent of the domestic debt of the region. It is followed by Kaduna State with N93 . 2 bn , accounting for 19 . 2 per cent .

Katsina State has a domestic debt burden of N67 . 1 bn , accounting for 13 . 82 per cent of the region’ s debt while Kebbi State accounts for 13 . 81 per cent with a burden of N67 . 04bn .

Zamfara has a domestic debt burden of N61 . 95bn , accounting for 12 . 76 per cent . Kebbi accounts for 7 . 88 per cent with a total domestic debt of N38. 23bn .

Sokoto , on the other hand, is the least indebted in the region with a debt of N36 . 57bn , accounting for 7 . 53 per cent .

The North -East geopolitical zone comprising Adamawa , Bauchi , Borno, Gombe , Taraba and Yobe states has a debt burden of N441 . 19 bn , accounting for 11. 11 per cent of the country ’ s subnational debt .

Adamawa tops the zone with N97. 15 bn , accounting for 22. 02 per cent of the domestic debt of the region. Bauchi has N93 . 32bn , accounting for 21 . 15 per cent . Borno has N78 . 26bn , accounting for 17 . 74 per cent while Gombe has N76. 89 bn , accounting for 17. 43 per cent .

Taraba with N68. 57 bn accounts for 15 . 54 per cent while the least indebted, Yobe , with N26 . 99bn accounts for 6 . 12 per cent .

The South -East geopolitical zone comprising Imo , Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra is the least indebted zone with N305 . 67bn local debt accounting for 7 . 7 per cent of the country ’ s subnational debt .

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