DMO Confirms Amount FG Spent on Domestic Dollar-Debt Servicing in One Month

• Nigeria's debt continues to grow month after month despite caution from different stakeholders
• Information from the Debt Management Office shows that the debt comes down to about N650k for every Nigerian
• Another update from the official record of Nigeria's debts shows that the government spent more than half a trillion on debt servicing in one month

Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon, a journalist with Legit.ng, has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) has released a report that shows that the federal government spent N611.71 billion in servicing the first-ever dollar-denominated bond issued in the domestic market.

This sum was spent in March 2025 and alone accounts for 47.05% of the N1.3 trillion the government spent on servicing domestic debts in the first quarter of 2025.

The DMO’s Actual Domestic Debt Service for January to March report also shows that dollar bonds gulped 23.4% of the N2.61 trillion the federal government spent servicing domestic debts in the period.

FG pays N67.98 billion as interest in one month

In August 2024, the federal government offered the first-ever domestic dollar-denominated FGN bond of $500 million for subscription at $1,000 per unit to investors.

Nigerian Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, had confirmed that the issuance recorded a 180% oversubscription, bringing in $900 million for the government.

By March 2024, an interest payment of $44.97 million was due, and going by the official exchange rate of N1,511.80/$ at the time, this amounted to N67.98 billion in naira.

Overall, the government spent N611.71 billion to service the bond debt for March 2025, the Cable News reports.

Note that as of September 30, 2024, Nigeria’s foreign debt had reached N68.8 trillion ($43 billion), while domestic debt was N73.4 trillion ($45.8 billion).

This debt is an accumulation of multilateral loans, bilateral loans, and commercial papers issued over the years.

The breakdown shows that Nigeria's largest foreign creditor at the time was the International Development Association (IDA) with a debt of $16.83 billion.

Nigeria's debt grew by N4.72 trillion in 3 months

Recall that Nigeria's total debt grew by N4.72 trillion within the first quarter of 2025.

The external debts stood at N70.63 trillion ($45.9 billion), with the naira weakening significantly, inflating the debts further.

Nigeria's per capita debt has also crossed N600,000, raising concerns about the strain on public finances and the government’s ability to fund developmental projects.

DMO releases list of Nigeria's creditors

In related news, Nigeria has over $6.7 billion in bilateral debts, with China and France being the biggest creditors.

Legit.ng reports that other countries owed include Germany, Japan, and India.

International institutions owed include the World Bank with $18.3 billion, the African Development Bank (AfDB) with $3.5 billion, and AFC-arranged syndicated loans amounting to $133.6 million.

Source: Legit.ng