Domestic Debt Service Falls 31.8% To N2.14trn In Q2

Nigeria’s domestic debt-service payments fell by 31.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, dropping to N2.14 trillion from N3.14 trillion in the first quarter, according to fresh data from the Debt Management Office (DMO).

The decline reverses a sharp increase recorded at the start of the year, when Q1’s N3.14 trillion bill was 37.5 per cent higher than the N2.28 trillion paid in Q4 2025.

Of the Q2 total, interest and rental payments accounted for N1.98 trillion, while principal repayments made up N164.28 billion.

Interest on Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds remained the largest component of the debt-service bill, totalling N1.39 trillion for the quarter — N530.84 billion in April, N332.49 billion in May and N525.05 billion in June.

Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) accounted for N488.80 billion in interest payments, made up of N180.64 billion in April, N201 billion in May and N107.16 billion in June.

FGN Sukuk rental payments came to N92.29 billion across the quarter, while FGN Savings Bonds and the FGN Green Bond contributed N4.66 billion and N5.56 billion respectively.

Principal repayments totalled N164.28 billion for the quarter, with the bulk — N136.96 billion — settled in June, comprising N66.27 billion in naira-denominated promissory notes and N70.69 billion in foreign-currency-denominated notes. A further N24.68 billion was repaid in April and N2.64 billion in May; no foreign-currency promissory note principal was repaid in either month.

Debt Service Falls as Overall Debt Stock Rises

The decline in quarterly debt-service costs came even as Nigeria’s total public debt climbed 4.7 per cent to N166.79 trillion as of June 30, 2026, up from N159.35 trillion at the end of March, the DMO said.

Domestic debt stood at N91.59 trillion — 54.91 per cent of total public debt — while external debt was N75.20 trillion.

The figures show that the rise in Nigeria’s public debt stock during the quarter was not matched by a corresponding increase in domestic debt-service obligations.