Nigeria’s debt servicing in the first seven months of this year rose by 53.63 per cent, or $971.47m, to $2.78bn, up from the $1.81bn recorded in the same period in 2023.
This was disclosed in the Weekly International Payments data available on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website.
CBN data showed that external debt servicing had gulped the highest amount in May at $854.36m followed by $560.51m in January and $542m in July.
Debt servicing in the other months of February, March, and April had stayed below $300m with the lowest amount paid in June 2024 at $50.82m.
In the previous year, the highest amount paid on external debt servicing was $641.69m in July 2023, followed by $400.47m in March 2023. Other months stayed below the $300m threshold with the lowest being $54.35m in June 2023; a pattern of lower payment which was repeated this year.
Debt servicing is a significant portion of the weekly international payments made by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
According to the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s debt stood at N121.67tn as of the end of the first quarter
