- the monetary value of Nigerian external debt since 1999.
Between the period of 1985 and 2001, the country spent over $32 billion just to service external debt. Prior to the recent rescheduling arrangement with the Paris Club, creditors annual debt service payment due were in the range of $3 to $3.5 billion. Debt service due as at 2000 was over $3.1 billion which is approximately 14.5% of export earnings, excluding arrears of $19.6 billion owed to members of Paris Club. Actual debt service outlay in year 2000 was $1.9 billion (about 4 times federal government‘s budgeting to alleviate education and about 12 times the allocation to health). Yet the two sectors had immediate need for substantial public expenditure to upgrade the level of facilities and services for any meaningful alleviation of poverty to take place. This problem of debt overhang is adversely impacting on the Nigeria‘s economy in the inflow of foreign investments.
- Five countries in Europe that are Nigerian creditors
- France
- United State of America
- China
- England
- Japan
- When was Nigerian received debt forgiveness?
In October 2005, Nigeria and the Paris Club announced a final agreement for debt relief. The deal was completed on April 21, 2006, when Nigeria made its final payment and its books were cleared of any Paris Club debt.
- How much was the forgiveness and on what condition?
The debt relief worth $18 billion and an overall reduction of Nigeria’s debt stock by $30 billion. The deal was completed on April 21, 2006, when Nigeria made its final payment and its books were cleared of any Paris Club debt.