Nigeria’s ten least indebted states owed a combined total of N191.8 billion in domestic debts in Q1 2025, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO).
This represents 4.96% of the country’s total sub-national debt during the quarter.
In the period under review, Jigawa emerged as the state with the lowest sub-national debt in the federation.
On a year-on-year basis, sub-national debt among these states declined by 4.91%, from N4.07 trillion in Q1 2024 to N3.87 trillion in Q1 2025. States such as Anambra, Borno, and Kaduna also recorded reductions in their debt profiles over the same period.
The latest DMO report highlights a reshuffling in Nigeria’s sub-national debt landscape, influenced by fiscal constraints, infrastructure development ambitions, shifts in oil revenue, and tighter federal allocations.
This analysis examines the debt trends of the top 10 least indebted states.
The Ondo state’s domestic debt profile reduced from N16.4 billion in Q1 2024 to N11.8 billion in Q1 2025.
This shows a 28.05% year-on-year decrease, according to DMO data.
This is largely due to the Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s administration’s commitment to implementing wide-ranging cost-control measures and debt management strategies.
Also, the Ondo State Internal Revenue Service (ODIRS) has recently generated N28.1 billion during the first six months of 2025.
