…As Domestic Debt Servicing Gulps N3.1Trn
The Debt Management Office (DMO) at the weekend reported that Nigeria’s total public debt surged to N159.35 trillion year-om-year (Y-o-Y) at the end of the first quarter this year, with the cost of debt servicing standing at about N3.1 trillion during the review period,
The DMO’s latest Public Debt Portfolio report indicated that the debt stock as of the end of Q1 2026 represented 6.7 percent or N9.96 trillion increase from N149.39 trillion recorded at the end of the corresponding quarter of 2025 but only marginally changed from the N159.28 trillion recorded at the end of December 2025.
Data in the report showed that on a quarter-on-quarter basis, comprising N87.4 trillion in domestic debt and N71.95 trillion in external debt increased by about N75.51 billion, representing a 0.05 percent rise.
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While the domestic debt increased in the quarter under review by N8.64 trillion, or 11 percent, from N78.76 trillion in March 2025, external debt rose by N1.32 trillion, or 1.9 percent, from N70.63 trillion recorded in Q1 of 2025.
According to the DMO, when compared with the December 2025 debt profile, domestic debt rose by N2.55 trillion, or 3 percent, from N84.85 trillion, while external debt declined by N2.48 trillion, or 3.3 percent, from N74.43 trillion.
A breakdown of the debt stock on national and subnational debt liabilities reflected that the Federal Government accounted for N82.88 trillion of the domestic debt, while states and the federal capital territory (FCT) accounted for N4.52 trillion.
The Office reported that in dollar terms, Nigeria’s total public debt stood at $114.95 billion as of the end of Q1 this year, compared with $97.24 billion in March 2025.
It stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) official exchange rate of N1,386.2156 per dollar as of March 31, 2026, was used to convert the external debt to naira.
Meanwhile, the DMO reported that the Nigerian government spent N3.14 trillion on servicing its domestic debt in Q1 this year.
The data in its latest Domestic Debt Service report for Q1 2026 showed that debt servicing costs comprised N2.97 trillion in interest payments and N169.68 billion in principal repayments.
It disclosed that in January this year, the government spent N741.82 billion on domestic debt service, N967.67 billion in February and N1.43 trillion in March, bringing the total debt servicing costs to N3.14 trillion in the quarter.
The Office further clarified that interest payments accounted for about 94.6 percent of total domestic debt service during the quarter compared to the treasury bills (TBs), which accounted for the largest chunk of interest payments at N1 trillion, while interest on government’s bonds stood at N1.96 trillion.
In addition, it reported the government also paid N4.24 billion in interest on FGN savings bonds during the period, stating that the principal component of the debt service comprises N169.68 billion in repayments on local-denominated promissory notes.
