Nigeria’s public debt stock rose by N900bn to N153trn in Q3 2025 – DMO

The Debt Management Office (DMO) says Nigeria’s total public debt profile hit N153.29 trillion as at September 30, 2025.

Nigeria’s total public debt increased by N900 billion or 0.59 percent compared to the N152.39 trillion reported in June.

In a statement on its website, the debt office 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).

The DMO said the total domestic debt was N81.81 trillion ($55.47 billion), while the total external debt was N71.47 trillion ($48.46 billion).

The office said the federal government accounted for the bulk of domestic debt, which rose to N77.81 trillion by Q3 2025, from N76.58 in Q2.

Also, the domestic debt stock owed by states and the FCT increased slightly from N3.96 trillion in June to N4 trillion in September last year.

The rising debt profile signals the federal government’s hunger for cash to finance critical infrastructure amid huge budget deficits.

Nigeria’s 2026 budget deficit is at least N23.85 trillion — 4.28 percent of gross domestic product.

In Nigeria, concerns over budget deficits and revenue allocation often make public discourse on borrowing controversial.

In January 2025, the debt office dismissed a report claiming that Nigeria’s public debt rose from N21 trillion to N142 trillion under President Bola Tinubu.

The office said when Tinubu assumed office, the country’s debt was N87 trillion and not N21 trillion as claimed by the report.

On May 17, 2025, a report by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) said the federal and state governments had reduced their debt, supported by an increase in disbursements from the federation account allocation committee (FAAC). (The Cable)