Each Kwaran owes N25,352 to foreign, local creditors

Each Kwaran owes about N25,352.50 to local and foreign creditors in terms of debt per capita as the state’s total public debt profile hit N81,128,000,581.54 at the end of March 2021.

Data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) showed that while the state domestic debt stands at N63,243,935,109.34, the external debt is currently $47,063,330.19.

Debt per capita is calculated as the total public debt of a state divided by the state’s population.

The state’s domestic debt of N63,243,935,109.34 and the foreign pegged at N17,884,065,472.2 brings the total debt burden to N81,128,000,581.54. This total debt figure is then divided by the state’s population to arrive at a per-citizen debt of N25,352.50.

According to the State Government, Kwara’s population is about 3.2 million.

Meanwhile, the plan by the government to go for a fresh loan of N35billion, if fully accessed, might jack up the state’s debt stock above the current debt rate of N81,128,000,581.54 to N116,128,025,934.04.

The governor while unveiling the plan to borrow stated that his administration will take the loan to fund projects to attract investments and widen Kwara’s economic base, hinting that it is necessary to bridge the huge infrastructural gaps across various sectors in the state.

The plan to take the loan – of which the process is underway after approval by the state assembly – will have a direct impact on the net debt per capita of all Kwarans. What that means is that everybody would be owing N36,290 each.