Nigeria’s External Debt Servicing Costs Jump 38% in Nine Months

The surge translated to Nigeria’s apex bank spending a whopping $3.53 billion to service the country’s debts, indicating a $970 million jump compared to $2.56 billion during the same period in 2023.

This was contained in CBN’s International Payment Data published on its website.

The increase underscored the intensifying fiscal pressures facing Nigeria’s economy amid dwindling revenues, inflationary pressures, and currency depreciation.

A month-by-month analysis highlighted the scale of the challenge and showed that in January 2024, Nigeria spent $560.52 million on external debt servicing, marking a sharp increase from $112.35 million in January 2023.

February 2024 followed with $283.22 million, slightly below the $288.54 million recorded the previous year.

March 2024 showed a decline, with $276.17 million spent, compared to $400.47 million in March 2023, a 31 per cent drop.

In April 2024, debt servicing rose to $215.20 million, a 132 per cent increase, compared to $92.85 million in April 2023.

May 2024 saw the highest monthly expenditure of $854.37 million, a staggering 287 per cent jump from $221.05 million in May 2023.

By contrast, June 2024 recorded $50.82 million, slightly lower than the $54.36 million spent in June 2023.

The mid-year trend showed mixed movements as debt servicing fell to $542.50 million in July 2024, a 15 per cent decline from $641.69 million in July 2023.

August 2024 followed a similar trajectory, with $279.95 million spent compared to $309.96 million the previous year, a 10 per cent reduction.

However, September 2024 marked an increase, with $515.81 million spent, up 17 per cent from $439.06 million in September 2023.