Nigeria spent $5.47bn on foreign debt servicing – CBN

Nigeria expended a total of $5.47bn on external debt servicing between January 2024 and February 2025, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria have shown.

 The figures, published on the apex bank’s website, indicate the growing burden of debt obligations on the country’s external reserves and fiscal stability.

An analysis of the data revealed that debt service payments fluctuated over the period, with May 2024 recording the highest outflow at $854.37m, while June 2024 saw the lowest monthly payment of $50.82m.

A breakdown of the data showed a 1.9 per cent increase in debt service payments from $276.17m in March 2024 to $283.22m in February 2024.

 However, in April 2024, the amount fell by 22.1 per cent to $215.20m, before surging by 297 per cent in May to $854.37m, marking the highest single-month expenditure in the 14-month period.

In June 2024, debt service payments plummeted by 94 per cent to $50.82m, the lowest recorded in the period under review.

The figure rebounded in July 2024, rising by 967.4 per cent to $542.50m. This was followed by a 48.4 per cent drop in August 2024 to $279.95m, before increasing by 84.2 per cent in September 2024 to $515.81m.