CBN: Nigeria spent $3.5bn to service foreign debt in nine months

The federal government spent $3.57 billion servicing the country’s foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024.

According to data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) report on international payment statistics, the federal government debt service increased by 39.7 percent from the $2.56 billion spent during the same period in 2023.

The data showed that the highest monthly debt servicing payment in 2024 occurred in May, amounting to $854.36 million, while the highest monthly expenditure in 2023 was $641.69 million recorded in July.

A monthly breakdown of international debt figures for 2024 showed that in January, debt servicing cost was $560.51 million – up by 389 percent compared to $112.34 million recorded in January 2023.

In February, there was a decline of 1.8 percent, with payments reducing from $288.54 million in 2023 to $283.21 million in 2024.

The CBN data showed that in March payments also dropped 31.04 percent from $400.47 million in 2023 to $276.16 million in 2024.

However, April debt payments rose to $215.20 million in 2024 compared to $92.85 million in 2023.

The highest payment was recorded in May 2024, with the federal government spending $854.36 million to service debt — indicating a 286.52 percent increase compared to $221.05 million recorded in May 2023.  

In June 2024, debt payments declined to $50.82 million – down from $54.35 million in the same month in 2023.

Also, data showed that July 2024 recorded a 15.48 percent drop, with payments reducing to $542.5 million compared to $641.6 million in July last year.

In August, there was another decline of 9.69 percent, as $279.9 million was paid compared to $309.9 million in the same month in 2023.

However, September 2024 saw a 17.49 percent increase, with payments rising to $515.81 million from $439.06 million in September last year.

Nigeria’s debt management has been a cause of concern. 

In the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said Nigeria’s public debt rose to N134 trillion – up by 10 percent from N121.67 trillion in Q1 2024.

While domestic debt rose to N71.22 trillion ($48.44 million) in June 2024, foreign or external debt stood at N63.07 trillion ($42.90 million) in June 2024.

On November 4, President Bola Tinubu said Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio has reduced from 97 percent to 65 percent.