DMO: Nigeria spends N5.28 trillion on domestic debt service in H1 2026

Nigeria spent N5.28 trillion servicing domestic debt in the primary half of 2026, with curiosity and rental funds accounting for N4.95 trillion of the overall.

This is in accordance with knowledge launched by the Debt Management Office (DMO) on Thursday.

The DMO’s precise domestic debt service figures present that the Federal Government additionally paid N333.96 billion in principal repayments on promissory notes between January and June.

The figures spotlight the price of servicing domestic borrowing as Nigeria continues to handle rising debt obligations alongside spending wants for infrastructure and different authorities priorities.

Domestic curiosity funds attain N4.95 trillion

Interest and rental funds on domestic debt devices totalled N4.95 trillion in the six months, accounting for the majority of the N5.28 trillion spent on domestic debt service.

• Federal Government bonds have been the most important contributor, attracting N3.35 trillion in curiosity funds and accounting for a considerable share of the overall. Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) adopted with N1.49 trillion.
• Interest funds on Federal Government bonds stood at N462.44 billion in January, rose to N707.25 billion in February and reached N792.34 billion in March.
• Payments on the bonds declined to N530.84 billion in April and N332.49 billion in May earlier than rising to N525.05 billion in June.
• Treasury invoice curiosity funds totalled N1.49 trillion, with March accounting for about N481.47 billion, the best month-to-month quantity for the instrument in the course of the interval.

The authorities additionally spent N92.29 billion on FGN Sukuk leases and N8.90 billion on FGN Savings Bonds, whereas inexperienced bond curiosity funds amounted to N5.56 billion.

The figures present that typical Federal Government bonds and Treasury Bills made up many of the authorities’s domestic curiosity burden in the course of the first half of the yr.

Principal repayments add N333.96 billion

Beyond curiosity and rental funds, the Federal Government spent N333.96 billion on principal repayments for promissory notes in the course of the interval.

• The funds diversified significantly by month, with March and June recording the most important quantities. March repayments stood at N154.23 billion, whereas June funds reached N136.96 billion.
• Local-currency-denominated promissory notes accounted for N263.27 billion of the overall, whereas foreign-currency-denominated promissory notes accounted for N70.69 billion.
• Monthly domestic debt service, together with each curiosity and principal, additionally fluctuated over the interval. March recorded the best whole at N1.43 trillion, adopted by February at N967.67 billion and June at N811.62 billion.
• January’s whole stood at N741.82 billion, whereas April recorded N765.19 billion. May had the bottom month-to-month domestic debt service in the course of the interval, at N567.16 billion.

The variation displays variations in the timing and dimension of curiosity funds and principal repayments throughout the federal government’s domestic debt devices.

Debt service prices stay a fiscal concern

The newest figures add to considerations in regards to the sources required to service Nigeria’s rising debt obligations.

Nairametrics previously reported that Nigeria incurred N10.61 trillion in further debt-service prices between June 2023 and December 2025, roughly N4.14 trillion greater than the N6.47 trillion spent on strategic infrastructure improvement over the identical interval.

The publication additionally reported that the Federal Government borrowed N11.9 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025, whereas arguing that financial reforms had created fiscal house and prevented even larger borrowing.

Nigeria’s whole debt service rose to about N16 trillion in 2025, pushed by larger domestic curiosity funds and sustained exterior obligations.