Worries Over Nigeria’s N152trn Debt

Nigeria’s Debt Management Office, DMO, has revealed that Nigeria’s total public debt stock as of June this year has risen to over N152 trillion, from the N149 trillion recorded earlier in March this year.

According to a report by The Punch, the figure represents N3.01 trillion increase from N149.39 trillion recorded at the end of March 2025, marking a 2.01 per cent rise within three months. In dollar terms, the debt profile grew from $97.24 billion to $99.66 billion, reflecting a 2.49 per cent increase.

The new data, according to analysts is a pointer that the federal government has continued to rely on borrowing to fund its budget, despite assurance that the fiscal policies, embarked open by the administration, such as the removal of fuel subsidy, convergence of the Foreign Exchange market have freed up more resources for the government.

The breakdown of the figures, according to the  newspaper report, shows that “Nigeria’s external debt climbed to $46 billion in June, up from $45.98 billion  in March.

“The World Bank remained Nigeria’s single largest external creditor, with $18.04 billion outstanding, mostly through the International Development Association. This represents about 38 per cent of total external obligations.

“Overall, multilateral lenders accounted for $23.19 billion or 49.4 per cent of the external portfolio. Other multilateral partners include the African Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Islamic Development Bank.

“Bilateral loans contributed $6.20 billion, led by the Export-Import Bank of China with $4.91 billion, while smaller exposures were owed to France, Japan, India, and Germany.

“Commercial borrowings, mostly Eurobonds, stood at $17.32 billion, accounting for 36.9 per cent of the external debt. Nigeria also owed $268.9 million under syndicated facilities and commercial bank loans.”

Not a few Nigerians says they are worried over the rising debt since the Tinubu administration came into power. Amid this apprehension, the Minister of Power disclosed last week that the government has solicited over $2 billion from the Chinese Exim Bank to build a new Power Grid, to stabilise electricity in the country.