Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) announced late last week that the country’s external debts will increase to $83 billion due to $2.5 billion of new loans provided by the World Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Brazil to help mitigate the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
With just $3.71 billion in outstanding loans, according to the DMO, China’s share of Nigeria’s debt is getting smaller at around 4%. Yet, it would be easy to assume that China accounts for much more of the debt based on widespread misperceptions shared on social media, in the national media, and disseminated by various members in the House of Representatives.
However, a lot of media outlets are doing their best to set the record straight and contextualize China’s portion of Nigeria’s debts. On Sunday, the Daily Trust’s John Chuks Azu became the latest journalist to break it down and dispel the notion that Nigeria is being overwhelmed by Chinese loans.
SUGGESTED READING:
- Daily Trust: Explaining Nigeria’s China Debt Puzzle by John Chuks Azu
- Quartz Africa: How much money does Nigeria owe China? by Allwell Okpi
