Nigeria’s Debt Rises To N159.35tn, Moderates By 0.1% In 3 months

Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N159.35 trillion as at March 2026, slightly above the N159.28 trillion recorded three months earlier, but up from N149.39 trillion in March 2025.

The latest figures from the Debt Management Office, DMO also show a shift from external to domestic borrowing, with domestic debt rising by more than N2 trillion between December 2025 and March 2026.

Data from the Debt Management Office show that Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N159.35 trillion in March 2026, compared with N159.28 trillion in December 2025.

That represents a marginal increase of about N75 billion, or less than 0.1%, in the three-month period.

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But compared with N149.39 trillion in March 2025, the debt stock has increased by almost N10 trillion, or 6.7%, over the one-year period.

The composition of the debt, however, changed more noticeably between December and March.

External debt fell from N74.43 trillion in December 2025 to N71.95 trillion in March 2026, a decline of about N2.48 trillion, or 3.3%.

In contrast, domestic debt rose from N84.85 trillion to N87.40 trillion, an increase of about N2.55 trillion, or 3%. This means domestic debt now accounts for 54.85% of the total debt stock, up from 53.27% in December 2025.

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(Editor: Terverr Tyav)