The World Bank Group Finances has revealed that the Federal Government is still repaying $10.6bn in loans obtained under former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, late Umaru Musa Yaradua, and Goodluck Jonathan.
Recall that in June 2024, the Debt Management Office said as of March 31, 2024, Nigeria’s domestic and external debts stood at N121.67tn ($91.46bn).
The domestic debt was put at N65.65tn ($46.29bn), while external debt stood at N56.02tn ($42.12bn).
Saturday PUNCH gathered that part of the foreign debt was the $4.95bn in loans obtained by the current administration in its first 12 months, just as the Central Bank of Nigeria said a total of $15.55bn had been spent on debt servicing between 2019 and 2024.
However, the WBG Finances, a digital platform, revealed that the Federal Government was still repaying at least 69 different loans secured between 2000 and 2014.
The platform, an initiative of the World Bank Group Finance and Accounting, offers public financial data and portfolio information from across all WBG entities.
It said, part of the World Bank loans still being repaid include the Community Based Poverty Reduction Project ($60m), Second Primary Education Project ($55m), Economic Management Capacity Building Project ($20m), and Small Town Water Supply and Sanitation Programme Pilot Project ($5m), all obtained in 2000.