The Federal Government disbursed 49 per cent more on external debt servicing year-on-year, according to the latest international payment data by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to the data, Nigeria spent about $2.01bn on external debt repayment between January and April 2025, compared to the $1.33bn recorded during the same period in 2024.
Debt servicing alone accounted for 77.1 per cent of Nigeria’s total international payments within the four months, a sharp rise from the 64.5 per cent share recorded in the same period of 2024.
In total, the country’s international payments, comprising debt service, remittances, and letters of credit, stood at $2.60bn as of April 2025, up from $2.07bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.
Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves reportedly fell by about $3bn during the review period.
On a month-to-month basis, Nigeria paid $540.67m in January 2025 from $560.52m recorded in January 2024.
In February, the figure stood at $276.73m, almost unchanged from the $283.22m paid in February 2024.
Debt service, however, spiked in March to $632.36m, more than double the $276.17m paid in the same month last year.
The upward tick continued in April with another $557.79m repaid- a 159 per cent increase from the $215.20m paid in April 2024.
The country spent nearly $1.2bn on debt repayments within March and April alone, the data revealed.
The development follows confirmation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Nigeria had fully repaid the $3.4bn financial support it received under the Rapid Financing Instrument to cushion the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The loan is one of the largest disbursements under the Rapid Financing Instrument globally and came with relatively favourable terms compared to traditional IMF programs.
In a statement on behalf of the IMF Resident Representative for Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, the Fund said the repayment was completed on April 30, 2025.
IMF stated that, “As of April 30, 2025, Nigeria has fully repaid the financial support of about $3.4bn it requested and received in April 2020 from the International Monetary Fund under the Rapid Financing Instrument to help alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp fall in oil prices.”
The loan, disbursed in April 2020, was aimed at helping Nigeria address a sharp fall in oil prices, economic contraction, and fiscal pressures caused by the pandemic.
Despite full repayment of the principal, Nigeria will continue to pay additional annual fees related to Special Drawing Rights charges of about $30m over the next few years.
The charges are tied to the difference between Nigeria’s SDR holdings, which currently stand at SDR 3,164m ($4.3bn), and its cumulative SDR allocation of SDR 4,027m ($5.5bn).
The charges are levied at the SDR interest rate, which is updated weekly, and will continue until Nigeria’s SDR holdings match the cumulative allocation amount, the IMF noted.
