Lagos and four other highest-debtor states account for 50.32 per cent of the total subnational debt in 2024.
The four other states are Kaduna, Edo, Ogun, and Bauchi, a review of the report released by BudgIT on Tuesday, October 28 has shown.
According to BudgIT, a Nigeria’s leading civic-tech organisation promoting fiscal transparency and accountability, the total subnational debt stood at ₦10.57 trillion in 2024.
Of the total sum, the five states’ debt amounted to approximately ₦5.32 trillion, marginally surpassing the cumulative debt of the remaining 25 states at ₦5.25 trillion.
The report indicated that unlike revenue performance and operational/capital expenditure, subnational debt management exhibited a distinct trajectory in the 2024 fiscal year.
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Total debt increased modestly from ₦9.89 trillion in 2023 to ₦10.57 trillion in 2024, representing a 6.8 per cent increase.
The rate of increase was, however, substantially slower than the 36.41 per cent rise observed between 2022 and 2023, when total debt moved from ₦7.25 trillion to ₦9.89 trillion.
“Notably, the combined debt of the five highest-debtor states in 2024—Lagos, Kaduna, Edo, Ogun, and Bauchi—amounted to approximately ₦5.32 trillion, marginally surpassing the cumulative debt of the remaining 25 states (₦5.25 trillion).
“Consequently, the top five accounted for 50.32% of total subnational debt, compared to 40.9% in 2023,” BudgIT stated.
On a positive side, a closer examination of domestic debt reveals encouraging progress.
The report shows that between 2022 and 2023, only 15 states reduced their domestic debt, with 12 achieving reductions exceeding ₦1 billion.
In contrast, 2024 saw 31 states decrease their domestic debt by at least ₦10 billion, with Lagos, Cross River, and Delta each reducing debt by over ₦100 billion.
“Collectively, this led to a cumulative decline in domestic debt exceeding ₦2 trillion, signalling meaningful efforts to manage subnational liabilities,” BudgIT stated.
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Similarly, foreign debt reductions were notable because while total foreign debt fell by $74 million between 2022 and 2023, the 2023–2024 period witnessed a decline of over $200 million.
Lagos, Enugu, and Gombe recorded the largest reductions, at $74.56 million, $33.39 million, and $21.88 million, respectively.
“Nonetheless, Lagos remained the most indebted state in foreign currency, with $1.17 billion, accounting for more than 25% of total subnational foreign debt, followed by Kaduna ($625.10 million), Edo ($383.05 million), Cross River ($202.46 million), and Ogun ($192.90 million),” the report highlighted.
In terms of foreign debt composition, Kaduna, Jigawa, Ondo, Ebonyi, Katsina, Anambra, Edo, and Kebbi each had foreign debt constituting over 80 per cent of total debt.
It stated that overall, 24 states had foreign debt that accounted for more than half of their total debt in 2024.
It revealed that average debt per capita increased slightly from ₦40,469 in 2023 to ₦41,766 in 2024, with 12 states—including Lagos, Edo, Kaduna, Cross River, Ogun, Ekiti, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, and Adamawa—exceeding this average.
“Notably, Lagos and Edo surpassed ₦100,000 per capita in debt obligations.
Additional subnational liabilities continued to present challenges, totalling ₦1.24 trillion in 2024, up from ₦1.19 trillion in 2023. These included contractor arrears (₦434.87 billion), pension and gratuity obligations (₦626.81 billion), salary and staff claims (₦33.74 billion), judgement debts and litigation (₦62.33 billion), and other miscellaneous liabilities (₦73.25 billion),” BudgIT added.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
