Nigeria: Public debt reaches 166.79 trillion naira in the second quarter of 2026

Nigeria's public debt stood at 166.79 trillion naira as of June 30, 2026, equivalent to $120.93 billion, according to data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) published on September 26, 2026, and reported by the Nigerian business media outlet Nairametrics. In three months, the outstanding debt increased by 7.44 trillion naira compared to the 159.35 trillion recorded at the end of the first quarter.

A predominantly domestic debt

Domestic debt accounts for 91.59 trillion naira, or 54.91% of the total, compared to 75.20 trillion for external debt (45.09%), which is equivalent to $54.52 billion. The federal government holds the bulk of the debt with 152.77 trillion naira, while states and the Federal Capital Territory account for 14.01 trillion. Regarding instruments, Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds account for 64.84 trillion naira and Treasury bills for 19.48 trillion, according to the DMO.

These amounts in naira should be viewed with caution: the DMO converted the external debt at the official rate of 1,379.1842 naira to the dollar as of June 30, 2026. Part of the increase expressed in the national currency therefore reflects exchange rate fluctuations as much as new borrowing.

Interest costs more than principal repayments

The breakdown of debt service highlights the true cost of borrowing. In the second quarter of 2026, Nigeria paid $870.73 million to its external creditors, a decrease of 8.7% compared to the $954.06 million from the previous quarter. However, $491.73 million of this sum went toward interest, representing 56.5% of external payments, exceeding principal repayments ($339.75 million) by $151.98 million, reported the Nigerian daily ThisDay on September 27, 2026. Domestically, debt service amounted to 2.14 trillion naira for the quarter.

Multilateral creditors received the largest share ($404.22 million), ahead of commercial creditors ($325.70 million) and bilateral creditors ($140.81 million).

Debt that has nearly doubled since 2023

The point of comparison is telling: Nigeria's public debt stood at 87.38 trillion naira at the end of June 2023, when President Bola Tinubu took office. It has therefore nearly doubled in three years in the national currency.

The continent's largest economy illustrates a debate that spans all of Africa: when more than half of external payments are used to pay creditors rather than reduce the principal, that is capital leaving the continent instead of funding schools, roads, or hospitals. The issue is political, and it involves both lenders and the African governments that take on these loans.