Nigeria spent N3.1trn on domestic debt servicing in Q1 – DMO

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DMO-debt management office

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The Debt Management Office, DMO, has said the federal government spent N3.14 trillion on servicing its domestic debt in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026.

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The office disclosed the data in its latest domestic debt service report for Q1 2026.

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The figure comprises N2.97 trillion in interest payments and N169.68 billion in principal repayments.

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The agency said in January, the government spent N741.82 billion on domestic debt service, while the figure rose to N967.67 billion in February.

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Debt service increased further to N1.43 trillion in March, bringing the total for the quarter to N3.14 trillion.

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The March figure was 47.7 percent higher than the N967.67 billion recorded in February and 92.7 percent above the N741.82 billion spent in January.

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Also, the debt office said interest payments accounted for about 94.6 percent of total domestic debt service during the quarter.

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The DMO said treasury bills accounted for the largest share of interest payments at N1 trillion, while interest on federal government bonds stood at N1.96 trillion.

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The agency said the government also paid N4.24 billion in interest on FGN savings bonds during the period.

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The DMO said the principal component of the debt service comprised N169.68 billion in repayments on local-denominated promissory notes.

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Overall, the government’s domestic debt service rose sharply through the quarter, with March accounting for almost half of the N3.14 trillion spent between January and March.

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Nigeria’s public debt increased by 0.01 percent to N159.35 trillion in the Q1 of 2026.

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On May 13, President Bola Tinubu said Nigeria would spend $11.6 billion on debt servicing in 2026.

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