The Federal Government has dismissed concerns over Nigeria’s debt sustainability, describing claims that interest payments exceeded its revenue in the first half of 2026 as misleading.
The Federal Ministry of Finance said the assessment, based on the World Bank’s October 2026 Nigeria Development Update, relied on incomplete revenue figures and included debt obligations serviced on behalf of state governments.
The World Bank’s figures put Federal Government revenue at ₦6.2 trillion and interest payments at ₦7.7 trillion between January and June 2026, translating to approximately 124 per cent of revenue.
However, in a statement issued on Sunday and shared on X by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, the ministry argued that the comparison was flawed because the interest payments covered obligations beyond the Federal Government alone.
It also said the revenue figure excluded earnings by government agencies and enterprises that had not been remitted to the Treasury.
The ministry maintained that Nigeria’s fiscal position had improved, noting that the interest-to-revenue ratio declined from 156 per cent in the first half of 2025 to about 124 per cent in the corresponding period of 2026.
It further stated that the full-year debt-service-to-revenue ratio had dropped below 60 per cent, compared with 97 per cent before the current administration’s reforms, which it described as evidence of improved fiscal management.
