Nigeria spent $817.4m (about N1.26 trillion) to service its debt in the first two months of 2025, representing a 3.12 per cent decline when compared to $843.73 million spent in the corresponding period of 2024.
According to the data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) International Payments Report, in January 2025, the Nigerian government spent $540.7 million and in February 2025 it spent $276.7 million on debt servicing.
A further breakdown shows that Nigeria spent $3.81 billion (about N5.9 trillion) for debt service/payments in 2024.
The data also showed that Nigeria’s foreign trade in Letters of Credit (LC) payments fell by 0.55 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) to $160 million in the first two months of this year from $160.9 million in the corresponding period of last year.
LC payments is one of the critical measures of a country’s credit worthiness, but a decline or increase could also reflect developments in volume of import trades.
LC payments for 2024 stood at $801.06 million, representing a 39 per cent YoY decline from $1.32 billion in 2023.
It will be recalled that the Nigerian Government unveiled its largest national budget in 65 years, with a record-breaking N54.99 trillion proposed spending, representing a 56.89 per cent increase from the N35.05 trillion budgeted in 2024 (including a supplementary N6.2 trillion).
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu described the development as the “Budget of Restoration,” aimed at stabilising the economy and driving growth.
The 2025 budget allocated N16.3 trillion for debt servicing, a 95 per cent increase from N8.25 trillion budgeted in 2024.
GIK/APA