THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised Nigeria on wholistic review of the country’s debt situation to avoid economic crisis.
The Director of the African Department at the IMF, Abebe Aemro Selassie, disclosed on Thursday at the Press briefing-African Department session at the ongoing IMF spring meeting in Washington DC United States.
“These kinds of issues, whether to borrow externally or domestically, have to be seen in totality for possible optimisation.
“What is really important is to see the level of debt as manageable as possible, whether in terms of servicing or capacity. Second is to do liability management operations that would help you to extend maturities,” Selassie added.
Nigeria’s total public debt increased to N159.28 trillion as of December 31, 2025. The total public debt rose from N153.29 trillion recorded at the end of September 2025 to N159.28 trillion in December 2025, according to the latest data released by the Debt Management Office (DMO) on Tuesday.
The increase indicates a quarter-on-quarter increase of N5.98 trillion or 3.9 per cent.
The DMO noted that the December 2025 figures were provisional and were converted using the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official exchange rate of N1,435.2571/$, while the September 2025 figures used N1,474.85/$.
Marking an increase of N14.61 trillion or 10.1 per cent, on a year-on-year basis, Nigeria’s public debt rose from N144.67 trillion in December 2024 to N159.28 trillion in December 2025.
This represents a rise from $94.23 billion to $110.97 billion, an increase of $16.75 billion.
Domestic debt remained the largest, rising from N81.82 trillion in September 2025 to N84.85 trillion in December 2025.
This represents a quarter-on-quarter increase of N3.03 trillion or 3.7 per cent compared to December 2024, when domestic debt stood at N74.38 trillion – the figure increased by N10.47 trillion or 14.1 per cent year-on-year.
That is, domestic debt rose from $55.47 billion in September 2025 to $59.12 billion in December 2025, and from $48.44 billion in December 2024. This highlights a sustained reliance on the domestic market for financing.
The Federal Government accounted for the bulk of domestic debt at N80.49 trillion, representing 50.53 per cent of total public debt, while states and the Federal Capital Territory accounted for N4.36 trillion.
Nigeria’s external debt stood at N74.43 trillion as of December 2025, representing 46.73 per cent of total public debt.
This reflects a quarter-on-quarter increase of N2.95 trillion from N71.48 trillion in September 2025, and a year-on-year increase of N4.14 trillion from N70.29 trillion recorded in December 2024.
Converted to the United States dollars, external debt rose from $48.46 billion in September 2025 to $51.86 billion in December 2025, and from $45.78 billion in December 2024.
This represents a rise from $94.23 billion to $110.97 billion, an increase of $16.75 billion.
Domestic debt remained the largest, rising from N81.82 trillion in September 2025 to N84.85 trillion in December 2025.
This represents a quarter-on-quarter increase of N3.03 trillion or 3.7 per cent compared to December 2024, when domestic debt stood at N74.38 trillion – the figure increased by N10.47 trillion or 14.1 per cent year-on-year. That is, domestic debt rose from $55.47 billion in September 2025 to $59.12 billion in December 2025, and from $48.44 billion in December 2024. This highlights a sustained reliance on the domestic market for financing.
Notably, the Federal Government accounted for the bulk of domestic debt at N80.49 trillion, representing 50.53 per cent of total public debt, while states and the Federal Capital Territory accounted for N4.36 trillion.
Nigeria’s external debt stood at N74.43 trillion as of December 2025, representing 46.73 per cent of total public debt.
This reflects a quarter-on-quarter increase of N2.95 trillion from N71.48 trillion in September 2025, and a year-on-year increase of N4.14 trillion from N70.29 trillion recorded in December 2024.
The Federal Government continued to dominate external borrowing, accounting for N66.27 trillion of the total external debt, while states and the FCT accounted for N8.16 trillion.
However, the structure of Nigeria’s debt portfolio remained broadly stable despite the increase in overall debt, DMO claimed.
While domestic debt accounted for 53.27 per cent of total debt in December 2025, compared to 53.37 per cent in September 2025 and 51.41 per cent in December 2024, external debt stood at 46.73 per cent in December 2025, compared to 46.63 per cent in September 2025 and 48.59 per cent a year earlier.
An earlier report by The ICIR noted the exclusion of Nigeria by the IMF from the list of Africa’s fastest-growing economies in 2025, which economic watchers say questioned the policies of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
The IMF, in its Regional Economic Outlook report for sub-Saharan Africa, launched on Thursday, October 16, 2025, in Washington, DC. excluded Nigeria from the list of Africa’s fastest-growing economies, and listed Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda as the fastest-growing economies on the continent.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.