Public debt management and national development in Nigeria

The imperative to revisit the effects of public debt management strategy in Nigeria is necessitated by the fact that the country is currently under severe revenue pressure arising from her volatile macroeconomic environment and uncertain global economic outlook. This is due to the structural subsidence of the international price of crude oil. Debt sustainability has for decades been a topical issue in Nigeria because of the recurring and divergent issue on the debt problem and the resultant challenges and contradictions on Nigeria's development. This is despite the assurances given by the Debt Management Office on the sustainability of these debts. The study, therefore, set out to examine whether the debt refinancing strategy adopted by Debt Management Office has a positive impact on employment generation in Nigeria and ascertain whether the regulation of sub national government borrowings facilitates the development of infrastructure in Nigeria. The study utilizes Rational Choice Theory while adopting qualitative content analysis with data majorly driven from secondary sources. The study finds out that the debt restructuring strategy has temporal respite due to the inability of the capital loan projects to regenerate revenues for its repayment as it is either misappropriated or mismanaged of which the consequences are debt accumulation. Thus, the study, therefore, recommends for viable ways of generating internal revenues and a legal framework for adequate monitoring of sub national governments.