Nigeria Spent N3.1 Trillion on Domestic Debt Servicing in Q1 2026

Nigeria's federal government allocated N3.14 trillion to service its domestic debt during the first quarter of 2026, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO). This figure includes N2.97 trillion in interest payments and N169.68 billion in principal repayments.

The DMO's domestic debt service report for Q1 2026 reveals a significant increase in spending throughout the quarter. January saw N741.82 billion spent, rising to N967.67 billion in February, and further escalating to N1.43 trillion in March. The March expenditure alone was 47.7 percent higher than February's and 92.7 percent above January's figures, with March's spending comprising nearly half of the total for the quarter.

Interest payments dominated the debt service costs, making up approximately 94.6 percent of the total. Treasury bills accounted for the largest share of these interest payments, totaling N1 trillion. Interest on federal government bonds amounted to N1.96 trillion, with an additional N4.24 billion paid in interest on FGN savings bonds.

The principal component of the debt service involved N169.68 billion in repayments on local-denominated promissory notes. Overall, Nigeria's public debt saw a marginal increase of 0.01 percent, reaching N159.35 trillion in the first quarter of 2026. This comes after President Bola Tinubu stated in May that Nigeria planned to spend $11.6 billion on debt servicing for the year 2026.