The Federal Government spent N3.14 trillion on servicing its domestic debt in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Debt Management Office.
The figure was contained in the DMO’s latest domestic debt service report for the period.
The amount comprised N2.97 trillion in interest payments and N169.68 billion in principal repayments.
According to the report, domestic debt servicing increased steadily throughout the quarter.
The government spent N741.82 billion in January, while the figure rose to N967.67 billion in February. It increased further to N1.43 trillion in March.
The March figure was 47.7 per cent higher than the N967.67 billion recorded in February and 92.7 per cent above the N741.82 billion spent in January.
Interest payments accounted for about 94.6 per cent of the total domestic debt service during the three-month period.
Treasury bills accounted for the largest portion of interest payments at N1 trillion, while interest on Federal Government bonds stood at N1.96 trillion.
The government also paid N4.24 billion in interest on FGN Savings Bonds during the period.
Meanwhile, the principal repayment component amounted to N169.68 billion, representing repayments on local-currency-denominated promissory notes.
The DMO’s figures show that March accounted for almost half of the N3.14 trillion spent on domestic debt servicing during the first quarter.
The development comes amid rising concerns over Nigeria’s debt service obligations. The country’s total public debt increased marginally by 0.01 per cent to N159.35 trillion in the first quarter of 2026.
President Bola Tinubu had in May projected that Nigeria would spend $11.6 billion on debt servicing in 2026.
