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| President Bola Tinubu |
A review of Debt Management Office (DMO) data has shown that President Bola Tinubu’s administration spent N13.8 trillion on domestic debt servicing between July 2023 and June 2025.
According to the breakdown, between January and June 2025, a sum of N4.3 trillion was spent on domestic debt servicing, while N5.8 trillion was spent between January and December 2024.
The administration spent N1.7 trillion between July and September 2023, and another N2 trillion between October and December of the same year.
A review of debt service payments published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that President Tinubu’s administration spent a total of $9.9 billion (N14.6 trillion) on external debt servicing between June 2023 and August 2025.
The monthly breakdown for 2025 shows significant outflows, with $302.2 million spent in August, $179.9 million in July, and $143.3 million in June. Earlier months saw $230.9 million in May, $557.7 million in April, $632.2 million in March, $276.7 million in February, and $540.6 million in January.
In December 2024, Nigeria spent $328.9 million on external debt servicing. Other monthly payments in 2024 included $232.4 million in November, $515.8 million in October and September, $279.9 million in August, $542.5 million in July, $50.8 million in June, $854.3 million in May, $215.2 million in April, $276.1 million in March, $283.2 million in February, and $560.5 million in January.
For 2023, the payments stood at $65.6 million in December, $367.7 million in November, $509.7 million in October, $439 million in September, $309.9 million in August, $641.6 million in July, and $54.3 million in June.
A previous review of data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) indicated that Tinubu’s administration spent more on domestic debt servicing in 2024 than Nigeria had in any single year over the past 29 years, dating back to 1996.
The upward trend in Nigeria’s debt servicing has been consistent in recent years. In 2022, the government spent N2.560 trillion on domestic debt and $2.405 billion on external obligations. In 2021, the figures stood at N2 trillion and $2.109 billion, while in 2020, domestic and external payments were N1.854 trillion and $1.556 billion, respectively.
Looking further back, Nigeria’s annual external debt servicing generally remained below $4.6 billion from 2005 to 2023, with a notable spike in 2006, when payments reached $6.727 billion.
Other historical figures illustrate the growth over time: external debt servicing was $1.333 billion in 2019, $1.472 billion in 2018, and $464 million in 2017.
Earlier years, including 2015, 2014, and 2013, recorded even lower amounts of $331 million, $346 million, and $297 million, respectively. The highest payment before 2006 was in 1990, when Nigeria spent $3.5 billion on external debt servicing.
Domestically, Nigeria had never spent as much as N5.9 trillion on debt servicing before 2024.
Previous years saw significantly lower amounts, with domestic debt servicing peaking at N1.606 trillion in 2019, and generally staying below N2 trillion throughout the 2010s.
For example, in 2017 and 2018, the figures were N1.476 trillion and N1.797 trillion, respectively. In earlier years, such as 2014 and 2015, expenditures were even lower.
Historical data from 1996 to 2005 indicates that the highest domestic debt servicing during that period was N203 billion in 2004.