ABSTRACT

The problem associated with poor management of debt and debt service prompted Sanusi in 2003 to warn that rising Nigeria’s debt profile is an impediment to economic growth and development in the country. Hence, the study examined the effect of public debt management on economic growth of Nigeria. The study covered from 1981 to 2019. The research design for the study was ex-post facto. The stated hypotheses were analyzed with multiple regression. The finding of the study revealed that domestic debt has positive and insignificant effect on gross domestic product, domestic debt service has positive and insignificant effect on gross domestic product, external debt has positive and insignificant effect on gross domestic product and external debt service has negative and significant impact on the gross domestic product of the country. It was recommended that debt Management Office in Nigeria should set mechanism in motion to ensure that fund borrowed within the country are utilized for purposes in which they were acquired as well as set a ceiling for borrowing for federal governments based on well-defined criteria