Nigeria’s total public debt stock rose to ₦166.79 trillion as of 30 June 2026, representing a ₦7.44 trillion increase from the ₦159.35 trillion recorded at the end of the first quarter of the year.
The Debt Management Office (DMO) disclosed this in its latest public debt portfolio report published on Friday, 25 September.
The new figure also represents a 9.4 per cent increase, or ₦14.39 trillion, compared with the ₦152.40 trillion recorded as of June 30, 2025.
The debt stock comprises ₦91.59 trillion in domestic debt, representing 54.91 per cent of the total, and ₦75.20 trillion in external debt, accounting for the remaining 45.09 per cent.
Domestic debt increased by ₦11.04 trillion, or 13.7 per cent, from ₦80.55 trillion recorded in June 2025, while external debt rose by ₦3.35 trillion, or 4.7 per cent, from ₦71.85 trillion during the same period.
The Federal Government accounted for ₦152.77 trillion of the total debt stock, comprising ₦87 trillion in domestic debt and ₦65.77 trillion in external debt.
States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) accounted for ₦14.01 trillion, comprising ₦4.59 trillion in domestic debt and ₦9.42 trillion in external debt. The DMO’s official figures put the combined state and FCT debt at ₦14.01 trillion.
In dollar terms, Nigeria’s total public debt stood at $120.93 billion as of June 30, compared with $99.66 billion a year earlier.
The DMO said it used the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official exchange rate of ₦1,379.1842 to $1 as of June 30, 2026, to convert the external debt component into naira.
The latest increase follows a relatively marginal rise in the country’s debt stock during the first quarter. Nigeria’s public debt had risen from ₦159.28 trillion at the end of December 2025 to ₦159.35 trillion by 31 March 2026.
The rising debt stock has coincided with increased domestic debt-servicing costs. In the first quarter of 2026, the Federal Government spent ₦3.14 trillion servicing domestic debt, up 20.3 per cent from ₦2.61 trillion in the corresponding period of 2025. Interest payments accounted for ₦2.97 trillion, or about 95 per cent of the domestic debt-service expenditure.
The DMO has also continued to raise funds through the domestic bond market. In June, it reopened two Federal Government bonds, offering a combined ₦1.20 trillion, with total demand reaching ₦1.41 trillion. It eventually allotted ₦1.22 trillion.
The DMO’s latest publication is part of its regular quarterly disclosure of Nigeria’s public debt position and covers the Federal Government, the 36 states and the FCT.
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