ABSTRACT

This study seeks to examine the Effect of Nigerian Debt Management and External Debt

Burden on selected economic indices from 1990-2016. Time series data on external debt

stock and external debt service was used to capture external debt burden on economic

variables such as Real Gross Domestic Product(RGDP), Capital Expenditure and External

Reserve. Three Null hypotheses were stated to critically examine the effect of the dependent

variables on the independent variables. The origin, structure and causes of Nigerian debt and

the measures adopted by DM0 to manage and minimize the growing rate of the debt was

reviewed. Ex-post facto research design was adopted while the Simple Regression Analysis of

OLS was used to analyze the data gathered for this study. The result of the findings revealed

that there is a negative and significant relationship between the size of External Debt Stock

and RGDP together with Capital Expenditure while an insignflcant relationship exist

between External Debt Service Payment and External Reserves. Augmented Dickey Fuller

methodology was adopted to test for the stationarity of the data used while the long run

relationship was carried out using the Johansen co-integration test. The study therefore

concludes that the dependent variables has a great link with the independent variables and

should therefore be managed effectively through various fiscal, monetary and external debt

control policies. The study therefore recommends that spending of external debt on

productive self-liquidating investment must be strictly adhered to while projects to be

financed with external loan must be properly appraised and that government and regulatory

agencies must try as much as possible to reduce both internal and external debt while

focusing on capacity building using domestic available resources to promote economic

activities.