DMO Sets Record Straight: Only ₦67.99bn Spent on Dollar Bond

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has denied recent media reports claiming that the Federal Government spent ₦611.71 billion to service a domestic US Dollar-denominated bond in March 2025. In a statement released on Thursday, the agency clarified that the actual amount paid for servicing the bond in question was ₦67.99 billion.

Describing the circulating ₦611.71 billion figure as entirely incorrect, the DMO explained that the sum quoted by some analysts reflected the total debt servicing for all outstanding Federal Government bonds in March 2025, excluding the dollar-denominated bond.

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“The figure published by the DMO on its website for Q1 2025 as Debt Service on the US Dollar-denominated Bond was ₦67.988 billion and not ₦611.71 billion,” the DMO stated. “The figure of ₦611.71 billion quoted by some analysts is the Debt Service for all outstanding FGN Bonds, excluding the US Dollar-denominated Bond.”

The office also clarified that no principal repayment has been made on the US Dollar Bond, noting that it is scheduled to mature in 2029.

As of March 31, 2025, Nigeria’s total public debt stood at ₦149.39 trillion, a ₦27.72 trillion increase from the ₦121.67 trillion recorded in the same period of 2024. The domestic component rose to ₦78.76 trillion from ₦65.65 trillion the previous year.

The Federal Government accounted for ₦74.89 trillion of this figure, while the states and the Federal Capital Territory held ₦3.87 trillion. State-level debt declined slightly from ₦4.07 trillion in Q1 2024.

Nigeria’s external debt also surged to ₦70.63 trillion ($45.98 billion), up from ₦56.02 trillion ($42.12 billion) in Q1 2024.