Nigeria's total debt profile has climbed to N166.7 trillion as of September 2026, with the cost of handling debt obligations rising faster than the country's actual income. The mounting liabilities mean every citizen technically carries a financial burden of about N716,822, according to an analysis published by Punch.
The report highlights that the country now pays significantly more to handle interest payments than it earns across all revenue channels. Between January and June 2026, the federal government took in N6.2 trillion in revenue, reflecting an increase from N3.6 trillion during the corresponding period in 2025.
However, debt interest payments jumped to N7.7 trillion in that same half-year window, according to findings from the World Bank's recent Nigeria Development Update. This represents roughly 124.2 per cent of total generated revenue spent strictly on interest charges, completely bypassing repayments on the original loan principal.
The figures have triggered concern over government spending priorities. The country currently allocates roughly five times more funds to servicing debt than to health and education combined. This imbalance comes amidst major domestic challenges, including an estimated 10.5 million out-of-school children, 80 million jobless young people, and 63 per cent of citizens living beneath the national poverty line.
Further borrowing remains on the immediate horizon. President Bola Tinubu has submitted a formal request asking the National Assembly to approve an additional loan package worth $21.682 billion, which is not yet factored into the current debt total.
Government officials have offered differing perspectives on the statistics. Minister of Finance Taiwo Oyedele contested the World Bank's assessment, stating that the figures were misleading because they combined debt servicing across various tiers of government and excluded vital revenue channels.
Independent analysts, including Olajide Oyadeyi of the Commonwealth Secretariat and Imperial College Business School in the United Kingdom, have cautioned that the nation's liabilities fail sustainability tests over both short and long horizons if interest costs continue to consume more money than the treasury produces.
