Strategic Management of Public Debt and Economic Growth in Nigeria

The study explores the effect of strategic management of public debt on economic growth in Nigeria. The study employed an ex-post-facto research design. Data were obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) annual statistical bulletin. These formed the basis of covering twenty (20) years of democracy in Nigeria. Hypotheses formulated were tested using linear regression and correlational analysis to test the significance between the variables. The findings revealed a significant relationship between the variables, which includes debt management strategy (DMS, p = 0.003 < 0.05), debt sustainability strategy (DSS, p = 0.001 < 0.05), cash management strategy (CMS, p = 0.012 < 0.05) had a significant effect on economic growth in Nigeria. In contrast, the debt transparency strategy (DTS, p = 0.971 > 0.05) does not significantly affect economic growth in Nigeria. The study concludes that the Nigerian government is not firm in strategic decisions, particularly in debt. It is therefore recommended that the strategic management of debt should be seen by the government, finance minister, CBN governor and debt management office as part of macroeconomic policies in the country, and the enforcement of the law for misappropriation of funds will assist the government in curtailing the corrupt administration and enhancing the economic growth of Nigeria. The knowledge contribution of this study is to increase the literature in the area of public sector, debt management strategy and corporate finance research in Africa.