Nigeria's Q1 2026 Domestic Debt Servicing Hits N3.14 Trillion

The Debt Management Office (DMO) disclosed that Nigeria's federal government incurred N3.14 trillion in domestic debt servicing during the first quarter (Q1) of 2026. This expenditure comprised N2.97 trillion in interest payments and N169.68 billion in principal repayments.

The monthly breakdown shows that in January, the government spent N741.82 billion, which increased to N967.67 billion in February, and further rose to N1.43 trillion in March. March's spending represented a 47.7 percent increase from February and a 92.7 percent increase from January.

Interest payments constituted approximately 94.6 percent of the total domestic debt service, with treasury bills accounting for N1 trillion and federal government bonds for N1.96 trillion. Additionally, N4.24 billion was paid in interest on FGN savings bonds.

The principal repayments mainly involved N169.68 billion on local-denominated promissory notes. Nigeria's public debt rose by 0.01 percent to N159.35 trillion in Q1 2026.

On May 13, President Bola Tinubu announced that Nigeria would allocate $11.6 billion for debt servicing in 2026.