Nigeria’s domestic debt bill continued to climb in the first quarter of 2026, with the Federal Government spending N3.14 trillion on domestic debt servicing, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO). The latest DMO report shows that the amount included N2.97 trillion in interest payments and N169.68 billion in principal repayments, highlighting the growing cost of managing the country’s local debt.
The figures show that debt servicing became increasingly expensive as the quarter progressed. In January, the government spent N741.82 billion, before the amount jumped to N967.67 billion in February. By March, domestic debt service had surged to N1.43 trillion, representing a 47.7 percent increase from February and a 92.7 percent rise compared with January.
Interest payments accounted for the overwhelming majority of the government’s domestic debt obligations during the period, representing about 94.6 percent of the total N3.14 trillion. According to the DMO, Federal Government bonds accounted for the largest portion of the interest bill at N1.96 trillion, while treasury bills attracted about N1 trillion in interest payments. Another N4.24 billion was spent on interest for FGN savings bonds.
On the repayment side, the DMO reported that N169.68 billion went toward principal repayments on local-denominated promissory notes. With March alone accounting for almost half of the quarter’s total domestic debt service, the figures underline the pressure debt obligations are placing on government finances as authorities continue to manage the country’s borrowing needs.
Nigeria’s public debt also edged up by 0.01 percent to N159.35 trillion in the first quarter of 2026. The rising cost of debt servicing comes as the government faces the challenge of balancing borrowing, development spending and fiscal stability. President Bola Tinubu had earlier said Nigeria would spend $11.6 billion on debt servicing in 2026, making the latest domestic debt figures another important signal of the financial pressure facing the government.
source: vanguard
