NIGERIA · PUBLIC DEBT
Key Facts
- —What is happening Nigeria’s federal government paid 5.28 trillion naira (about US$3.97 billion) in interest and principal on domestic debt from January to June 2026, with the half year figures posted on Thursday, 15 October 2026.
- —Why it matters The bill is a gauge of how costly it is for Nigeria’s government to borrow at home, and it is 22% higher than the 4.32 trillion naira (about US$3.24 billion) paid a year earlier.
- —The numbers Bond interest took 3.35 trillion naira (about US$2.52 billion) and treasury bills 1.49 trillion naira (about US$1.12 billion), while March was the peak month at 1.43 trillion naira (about US$1.07 billion).
- —Who is who The Debt Management Office is the federal agency that issues and records government debt, led by its Director General, Patience Oniha, and the table covers the federal government only, not the states.
- —What to watch The next table to watch covers January to September 2026; last year’s nine month table was posted on 30 December 2025, and the DMO has published no date for this year’s.
- —What it means for you For US readers it is a yardstick of Nigeria’s local borrowing cost at about US$22 million a day, and the table does not show how much went to foreign investors, including US funds.
Nigeria’s federal government paid about US$3.97 billion in interest and principal on domestic debt in the first half of 2026. The Debt Management Office posted the half year table on Thursday.
Nigeria domestic debt service reached 5.28 trillion naira (about US$3.97 billion) in January to June 2026, the Debt Management Office says. The agency posted the table on Thursday, 15 October 2026, and Nairametrics and The Sun Nigeria reported it.
The Debt Management Office (DMO) is the federal agency that issues and records Nigeria’s government debt. For US readers, it gauges the cost of Nigeria’s local borrowing, at about US$22 million a day.
What Nigeria Domestic Debt Service Covers
Domestic debt service is the interest and principal the government pays on money it borrowed inside Nigeria, mostly in naira. It leaves out the dollar loans owed to foreign creditors, which the DMO lists in a separate table.
Interest and rentals took 4.95 trillion naira (about US$3.72 billion) of the total. Principal repaid on promissory notes was 333.96 billion naira (about US$251 million).
That is about 29.2 billion naira (about US$21.9 million) a day over the 181 days to 30 June. The monthly average was about 880 billion naira (about US$661 million).
Conversions use 1,331.83 naira per US$, the rate on open.er-api.com at 00:02 UTC on 15 October 2026. The same rate is applied to every period, which keeps them comparable but is not the rate on each payment date.
Bonds Take the Largest Share of the Bill
Interest on Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds was 3.35 trillion naira (about US$2.52 billion), or 63% of the total. These are medium and long term government bonds, mostly in naira.
Treasury bills cost 1.49 trillion naira (about US$1.12 billion) in interest, or 28% of the total. Treasury bills are short term government IOUs.
Sukuk rentals, the payments on the government’s Islamic bonds, came to 92.29 billion naira (about US$69 million). Savings bonds for individuals cost 8.90 billion naira (about US$6.7 million) and the green bond 5.56 billion naira (about US$4.2 million).
How the Bill Compares With a Year Earlier
The same DMO table for January to June 2025 shows 4.32 trillion naira (about US$3.24 billion). The 2026 total is 22% higher, a rise of 966 billion naira (about US$725 million).
Bond interest drove the rise, from 2.48 trillion naira (about US$1.86 billion) to 3.35 trillion naira (about US$2.52 billion). That is a 35% increase.
Treasury bill interest was flat at 1.49 trillion naira (about US$1.12 billion), against 1.50 trillion naira (about US$1.13 billion) a year earlier. Sukuk rentals rose 31% to 92.29 billion naira (about US$69 million).
Principal repaid on promissory notes rose 27% to 333.96 billion naira (about US$251 million). Of that, 70.69 billion naira (about US$53 million) was foreign currency notes, all paid in June.
The DMO’s quarterly tables put the first quarter at 3.14 trillion naira (about US$2.36 billion), up 20% on a year earlier. They put the second quarter at 2.14 trillion naira (about US$1.61 billion), up 26%.
The DMO website lists those quarterly tables as posted on 30 June and 25 September. Nairametrics reported the two quarters on 8 August and 26 September, so the half year total adds up figures already public.
Month by Month From January to June
March was the peak at 1.43 trillion naira (about US$1.07 billion), or 27% of the half year total. May was the lowest month at 567.16 billion naira (about US$426 million).
January cost 741.82 billion naira (about US$557 million) and February 967.67 billion naira (about US$727 million). April cost 765.19 billion naira (about US$575 million) and June 811.62 billion naira (about US$609 million).
Bond interest peaked in March at 792.34 billion naira (about US$595 million). Treasury bill interest also peaked then, at 481.47 billion naira (about US$362 million).
Both stayed below their March levels in every later month. The second quarter cost nearly a third less than the first.
How the Domestic Bill Compares With Dollar Debt
The DMO’s separate external debt table for the same six months shows US$1.82 billion paid to foreign creditors. Of that, US$1.11 billion was interest, US$648 million was principal and US$62 million was other charges.
At 1,331.83 naira per US$, domestic debt service was about 2.2 times the external bill. Commercial creditors, a group that includes Eurobond holders, received US$827.5 million of the external total, and multilateral lenders US$676.1 million.
Added together, the two bills come to about US$5.79 billion at that rate. The external table does not say whether it covers state debts, so the sum is indicative.
Who Is Who in the Debt Table
The DMO is the federal agency that manages Nigeria’s public debt, and its Director General is Patience Oniha. It publishes debt stock, debt service and bond price tables on its website.
Promissory notes are written government IOUs, which the DMO table lists as principal. A sukuk is an Islamic bond that pays a rental instead of interest.
The table covers the federal government only, as its title says. State government debts sit outside it.
What It Means for US Readers
For investors, the table shows how much Nigeria pays to borrow at home, mostly on naira bonds and treasury bills. At about US$22 million a day, that is a cost any new spending has to sit alongside.
The table does not split payments by holder, so the share going to foreign investors, including US funds, is not shown. Its dollar bond line, the FGN US Dollar Bond, cost 61.97 billion naira (about US$46.5 million) in interest.
The release is a government accounts table and not a policy decision. Nothing in it changes entry, tax or business rules for Americans in Nigeria.
Lenders and rating agencies track debt service costs when they judge a government’s finances. The January to June table gives them a firm figure for domestic borrowing costs, but none for revenue.
What Is Not Known
The DMO table gives no reason for the March peak of 1.43 trillion naira (about US$1.07 billion). It does not say whether the 35% rise in bond interest comes from more bonds, higher coupons or both.
The release does not compare the six month bill with federal revenue or with the 2026 budget line for debt service. It also does not say which claims the promissory notes settle or who holds the debt.
No DMO comment on the figures was found. Neither Nairametrics nor The Sun Nigeria compared the half year with 2025, so the 22% is calculated from DMO tables.
The US dollar values use one exchange rate for every month and are indicative. They are not the dollar amounts paid on each date.
What Comes Next
The DMO listing shows the January to September 2025 table was posted on 30 December 2025. On that pattern the 2026 nine month table would come near year end, but the DMO has published no date.
Later quarters will show whether bond interest keeps rising faster than treasury bill interest. The full year table, likely in 2027, will give the first complete picture against the 2026 budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Nigeria’s domestic debt service?
It is the interest and principal the federal government pays on money borrowed inside Nigeria, mostly in naira. From January to June 2026 it came to 5.28 trillion naira (about US$3.97 billion).
How much did it rise from last year?
It rose 22% from 4.32 trillion naira (about US$3.24 billion) in January to June 2025. Bond interest rose 35% while treasury bill interest was flat.
Which debts cost the most?
Federal Government bonds took 3.35 trillion naira (about US$2.52 billion) in interest, or 63% of the total. Treasury bills took 1.49 trillion naira (about US$1.12 billion), or 28%.
Does this include Nigeria’s dollar loans?
No, the table covers domestic debt only, apart from one dollar bond and some foreign currency promissory notes. Foreign creditors received US$1.82 billion in the same six months, in a separate DMO table.
Who publishes the figures?
The Debt Management Office publishes them on its website, and its Director General is Patience Oniha. The half year table appeared on 15 October 2026.
Sources: Debt Management Office, domestic debt service, January to June 2026; Debt Management Office, domestic debt service, January to June 2025; Debt Management Office, external debt service, January to June 2026; Debt Management Office, debt service listing; Debt Management Office, domestic debt service, January to March 2026; Debt Management Office, domestic debt service, April to June 2026; Nairametrics, half year total (15 October 2026); Nairametrics, second quarter (26 September 2026); Nairametrics, first quarter (8 August 2026); The Sun Nigeria; open.er-api.com exchange rates (all accessed 16 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
Part of our ongoing coverage
Africa: The New Scramble — the great-power contest over the continent.