Nigeria Spends ₦3.14 Trillion on Domestic Debt Servicing in Q1 2026, Up 20.3%

Nigeria spent ₦3.14 trillion servicing domestic debt in the first quarter of 2026, according to Debt Management Office data. This was 20.3% higher than the ₦2.61 trillion recorded in Q1 2025 and 37.5% above the ₦2.28 trillion spent in Q4 2025. Interest payments accounted for ₦2.97 trillion, while principal repayments were ₦169.68 billion. In effect, about ₦95 of every ₦100 spent on domestic debt servicing during the quarter went to interest. Monthly debt-service costs rose from ₦741.82 billion in January to ₦967.67 billion in February, then ₦1.43 trillion in March. FGN bonds accounted for ₦1.96 trillion of interest payments, while Nigerian Treasury Bills attracted ₦1.003 trillion. Nigeria’s total public debt stood at ₦159.35 trillion as of 31 March 2026, slightly higher than ₦159.28 trillion at the end of 2025. The figures underline the growing pressure that interest costs are placing on government finances.

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