Nigeria’s total public debt rose to N149.39 trillion as of March 31, 2025, marking a year-on-year increase of N27.72 trillion or 22.8% when compared to the N121.67 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.
This is according to the latest data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) for Q1 2025.
The data also indicates a quarter-on-quarter increase of N4.72 trillion or 3.3% from N144.67 trillion as of December 31, 2024.
This consistent upward trajectory in Nigeria’s debt stock reflects both fresh borrowings and the impact of a depreciating exchange rate on external debt obligations.
The federal and state governments owe a combination of domestic and foreign debts. Domestic debt is made up of FGN securities and treasury bills.
Nigeria owes countries like China, France, Germany, and Japan (bilateral debts) and multilateral institutions like the World Bank, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Latest data from the DMO shows Nigeria has a total external debt of $45.9 billion or N70.63 trillion using the prevailing exchange rate.
Nigeria’s external loans come from a diverse group of lenders and are categorized by the DMO. The first are Multilateral lenders, which include the IMF, World Bank, and AfDB.
Latest data from the DMO shows Nigeria has a total domestic debt of N78.76 trillion at the end of March 2025.
Nigeria’s domestic portfolio is made up of various instruments: FGN bonds, Nigerian Treasury Bills, FGN Sukuk, FGN Saving Bonds, FGN Green Bonds, and Promissory Notes.
A breakdown of the debts is as follows:
This is followed by Promissory Notes, otherwise called P-Notes, with a total sum of N1.301 trillion as of March 2025.
The P-Notes fell from N1.542 trillion in December 2024, reflecting the recent federal government’s efforts to settle Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) contractors and suppliers.
FGN Sukuk bonds remained steady at N992.6 billion during the period of December 2024 to March 2025, according to DMO data. The bonds are usually used to fund infrastructure projects like roads and bridges in the country.
FGN saving bonds come next with a total debt of N82.6 billion in March 2025.
Also, FGN Green Bonds constitute the least, with a total debt of N15 billion, and have remained this way since December 2022.
Also, FGN Green Bonds constitute the least, with a total debt of N15 billion, and have remained this way since December 2022.
With Nigeria’s debt on a 22.8% year-on-year increase, analysts caution that broader sustainability remains a concern.
Also, some analysts have expressed concerns over the fiscal regime of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, describing the increase in debt servicing from N8 trillion in 2024 to N16 trillion in 2025 as a ‘red flag’.
To reduce dependency on borrowing, Nigeria will need to expand non-oil revenues, rein in recurrent spending, and deepen structural reforms.