By Abubakar Yunusa
The Debt Management Office (DMO) says Nigeria’s total public debt for federal and state governments hit N159. 27 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025.
The figure represents an increase of N5.98 trillion compared to N153.29 trillion recorded at the end of the third quarter and N14.6 trillion higher than the N144.67 trillion recorded in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024.
In a statement on Wednesday, DMO said the public debt profile consists of the domestic and external debt stocks of the federal and subnational governments — the 36 states and the federal capital territory (FCT).
According to the debt office, the total domestic debt was N84.84 trillion ($59.11 billion), while the total external debt was N74.42 trillion ($51.85 billion).
In addition, DMO said domestic debt stood at N74.38 trillion in December 2024, representing an increase of N10.47 trillion or 14.1 percent to the current figure, while foreign debt increased by N4.14 trillion from N70.29 trillion recorded in December 2024.
The debt office further said that out of the total domestic debt, the federal government accounted for N80.48 trillion – higher by N2.67 trillion compared to the Q3 figure.
Also, the domestic debt stock owed by states and the FCT increased slightly to N4.36 trillion – up from 3.96 trillion in the previous quarter.
For foreign debt, the federal government accounted for N66.26 trillion ($51.85 billion) while states and the FCT had N8.15 trillion ($5.68 billion).
The debt agency added that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) official exchange rate of N1435.25 kobo/$1 as at December 31, 2025 was used in converting external debt to naira.
On March 31, President Bola Tinubu asked the national assembly to approve external loans totalling $6 billion.
The request was contained in two separate letters addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
In the first letter, Tinubu sought approval for a structured total return swap (TRS) external financing programme of up to $5 billion from First Abu Dhabi Bank of the United Arab Emirates.
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
