Nigeria’s foreign debt repayments rise by 50% year-on-year

Between January and April 2025, Nigeria paid approximately $2.01 billion toward external debt, up from $1.33 billion during the first four months of 2024. Debt servicing accounted for 77.1% of the country’s total international payments in this period, a significant increase from 64.5% the previous year.

Overall international payments—including debt service, remittances, and letters of credit—totaled $2.60 billion by April 2025, up from $2.07 billion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves reportedly declined by around $3 billion during this timeframe.

Monthly breakdowns show payments of $540.67 million in January 2025 (slightly down from $560.52 million in January 2024) and $276.73 million in February 2025, nearly stable versus $283.22 million the previous February.

However, debt service surged in March to $632.36 million—more than double the $276.17 million paid in March 2024—and continued rising in April with $557.79 million repaid, a 159% increase compared to April 2024’s $215.20 million. Nearly $1.2 billion was repaid in March and April alone.

This surge in repayments follows the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) confirmation that Nigeria fully repaid the $3.4 billion loan it received under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a statement from IMF Resident Representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, the repayment was completed as of April 30, 2025.

The RFI support, disbursed in April 2020, was aimed at mitigating the economic impact of the pandemic and the sharp drop in oil prices. It was one of the largest RFI disbursements worldwide and featured more favorable terms than typical IMF loans.

Despite settling the principal amount, Nigeria will continue paying annual fees related to Special Drawing Rights (SDR) charges estimated at about $30 million for the coming years.

These fees arise from the difference between Nigeria’s current SDR holdings (SDR 3,164 million or $4.3 billion) and its total SDR allocation (SDR 4,027 million or $5.5 billion). The charges are calculated at the SDR interest rate, updated weekly, and will persist until holdings equal allocations.