Debt Servicing to Consume N54.3 Trillion Between 2026 and 2028 – Review
A review of Nigeria’s newly approved Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for 2026–2028 reveals that debt servicing is projected to absorb N54.3 trillion of the country’s revenue over the three-year period.
Specifically, debt obligations are expected to cost N15.5 trillion in 2026, N19.4 trillion in 2027, and another N19.4 trillion in 2028.
Earlier, SaharaReporters’ analysis of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data showed that the Tinubu administration spent a total of $9.9 billion on external debt servicing between June 2023 and August 2025. Monthly breakdowns include $302.2 million in August 2025, $179.9 million in July 2025, $143.3 million in June 2025, and $230.9 million in May 2025. Other monthly payments include April 2025 – $557.7 million, March – $632.2 million, February – $276.7 million, and January – $540.6 million.
For 2024, external debt payments totaled $4.656 billion, while domestic debt servicing reached N5.9 trillion, marking the highest domestic debt expenditure in Nigeria in nearly three decades. By comparison, external debt payments in 2024 were the second-highest on record since 1985, only behind the $6.7 billion spent in 2006.
The review also highlights a sharp upward trend in debt servicing over recent years. In 2023, domestic debt servicing stood at N4.381 trillion, with external payments of $3.5 billion. In 2022, the figures were N2.560 trillion and $2.405 billion respectively. Going further back, Nigeria spent N2 trillion (domestic) and $2.109 billion (external) in 2021, and N1.854 trillion and $1.556 billion in 2020.
Historically, Nigeria’s external debt servicing remained below $4.6 billion annually between 2005 and 2023, except for 2006. For instance, payments were $1.333 billion in 2019, $1.472 billion in 2018, and $464 million in 2017. Earlier years, including 2015–2013, saw payments of $331 million, $346 million, and $297 million respectively. The highest figure before 2006 was $3.5 billion in 1990.
On the domestic side, 2024’s N5.9 trillion represents an unprecedented peak. Prior to this, the highest domestic debt servicing was N1.606 trillion in 2019, with most years in the 2010s below N2 trillion. Between 1996 and 2005, the top domestic payment was N203 billion in 2004.
The data underscores Nigeria’s increasing debt obligations and the rising pressure on national revenue to meet both domestic and external debt commitments.
