The latest domestic debt service report released by the Debt Management Office, DMO, has revealed that the Federal government spent N3.14 trillion on servicing its domestic debt in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, reports thegazellenews.com.
According to the report, figure comprises N2.97 trillion in interest payments and N169.68 billion in principal repayments.
The agency said in January, while disclosing that the government spent N741.82 billion on domestic debt service, while the figure rose to N967.67 billion in February, the agency added that debt service increased further to N1.43 trillion in March, bringing the total for the quarter to N3.14 trillion.
The March figure, the report revealed was 47.7 percent higher than the N967.67 billion recorded in February and 92.7 percent above the N741.82 billion spent in January.
Also, the debt office said interest payments accounted for about 94.6 percent of total domestic debt service during the quarter.
The DMO said treasury bills accounted for the largest share of interest payments at N1 trillion, while interest on federal government bonds stood at N1.96 trillion.
The agency, which said the government also paid N4.24 billion in interest on FGN savings bonds during the period, added that said the principal component of the debt service comprised N169.68 billion in repayments on local-denominated promissory notes.
Overall, according to DMO, the government’s domestic debt service rose sharply through the quarter, with March accounting for almost half of the N3.14 trillion spent between January and March.
President Bola Tinubu May 13, 2026 said Nigeria would spend $11.6 billion on debt servicing in 2026.
