INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCE RESEARCH
IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY

The research investigated the effects of debt over-hoarding in Nigeria by analyzing time series debt values from 1981-2022 and using per capita income as a measure of economic development. Data were collected from the Statistical Bulletin of the Central Bank of Nigeria. A univariate regression analysis was conducted using Augmented Dickey Fuller Unit Root Tests. The results of the analysis indicate that retaining debt at high levels has a significant and beneficial impact on economic growth, with a probability value of 0.6822. The study concluded that well-managed debt can promote growth and contribute positively to economic development. It was recommended that the government allocate debts to productive investments and high-return projects such as road infrastructure and technological advancements to enhance productivity and economic development in Nigeria. Additionally, borrowing from domestic sources, even at a higher cost, was suggested to support the development of the financial market, with the expectation that this would lower the cost of domestic financing access in the medium to long term for the economy as a whole.