As of the end of June 2024, Nigeria's external debt has reached $42.9 billion. The Debt Management Office (DMO) reports that the combined debt of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) accounts for 11% of this total, amounting to $4.89 billion, while the Federal Government's debt is recorded at $38 billion.
Within the overall debt, multilateral obligations total $17.13 billion, and bilateral debts—including those owed to China, EXIM Bank, JICA, KWE, IsDB, and AFD—amount to $5.49 billion. Additionally, commercial Eurobonds and diaspora bonds contribute approximately $15.12 billion to the total.
Data indicates that Nigeria's external debt was $42.12 billion as of March 2024. Lagos state has the highest debt at $1.2 billion, followed by Kaduna state with $640.99 million, and Edo state with $380.97 million.
In terms of domestic debt, the total owed by the 36 states and the FCT has surpassed N4.27 trillion, with Lagos state again leading at N885.99 billion. Rivers state follows with N389.2 billion, and Delta state ranks third with N304.54 billion.
Jigawa state has the lowest domestic debt at N1.82 billion, with Ondo state at N15.1 billion and Kebbi state at N15.46 billion. Notably, Jigawa's debt decreased by N254.97 million from N2.1 billion in March 2024 to N1.82 billion by the end of June. Similarly, Ondo state reduced its debt by N1.3 billion, dropping from N16.4 billion to N15.1 billion, while Kebbi state saw a reduction of N1.6 billion, from N17.06 billion to N15.46 billion.
Overall, the total domestic debt is reported at N4.07 trillion, indicating that states have increased their borrowing by N198.96 billion, reflecting a roughly five percent rise over the past three months.
In March, Lagos had a total debt of N929.41 billion, reflecting an increase of N43.42 billion over a three-month period. Similarly, the Rivers state government saw its debt rise from N232.58 billion to N389.2 billion.
In March 2024, the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) distributed N1.12 trillion among the three levels of government in Nigeria. The Federal Government received N345.89 billion, states were allocated N398.69 billion, and N288.69 billion was designated for the 774 local government areas. Additionally, FAAC allocated N90.12 billion to oil-producing states as derivation funds. Despite an increase in allocations to N461.979 billion in June from N398.201 billion, many states continued to accumulate more debt.
Nevertheless, Delta State notably distinguished itself during this period by successfully reducing its debt by nine percent, with a decrease from N334.9 billion in March 2024 to N304.54 billion. Conversely, Taraba experienced the most significant debt increase from March to June, accumulating an additional N52.64 billion, resulting in a rise from N32.64 billion in March to N84.72 billion by the end of June 2024.
Niger also experienced a substantial rise, with a 70 percent increase, adding N60.22 billion to its existing N86.07 billion, bringing its total to N146.29 billion. Other states that saw debt increases included Bauchi, which grew from N108.39 billion to N147.23 billion.