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Nigeria paid $870.73 million to service its external debt in the second quarter of 2026, with interest payments accounting for more than half of the total.
This represents a decline from the $954.06 million the country spent on external debt service in the first quarter of 2026.
According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), the payments between April and June comprised $339.75 million in principal repayments, $491.73 million in interest and $39.25 million in other charges.
The country paid $623.22 million in interest payments for Q1 2026.</span
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The figures were contained in the DMO’s report on actual external debt service payments for the quarter, highlighting the contribution of interest costs to Nigeria’s external debt burden.
Multilateral creditors receive $404.2m
Multilateral creditors received the largest share of Nigeria’s external debt service during the quarter, with payments totalling $404.22 million.
- The amount comprised $238.28 million in principal repayments, $162.39 million in interest and $3.56 million in other charges.
- The International Development Association (IDA) received $204.86 million, comprising $142.00 million in principal, $62.76 million in interest and $100,776.60 in other charges.
- The African Development Bank received $127.24 million, including $67.77 million in principal and $58.30 million in interest.
- The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development received $44.42 million, comprising $10.48 million in principal and $32.02 million in interest.
Other payments included $11.30 million to the African Development Fund, $8.98 million to the International Fund for Agricultural Development and $3.52 million to the African Growing Together Fund.
Multilateral obligations therefore accounted for the largest portion of total external debt service in Q2 2026.
Commercial creditors receive $325.7 million
Commercial creditors received $325.70 million during the quarter, with the payments largely comprising interest and other charges.
- Interest payments accounted for $292.85 million, while other charges amounted to $32.85 million.
- No principal repayment was recorded for commercial creditors during the period.
- Eurobond interest accounted for the largest single commercial debt service payment at $217.44 million.
Nigeria also paid $36.36 million to Afrexim Bank under a syndication arrangement and $33.40 million to First Abu Dhabi Bank under another syndication facility.
A further $22.50 million was paid in other charges associated with a First Abu Dhabi Bank total return swap.
The figures show the relatively high cost of servicing commercial external obligations, particularly Eurobond debt.
Bilateral creditors receive $140.8 million
Nigeria paid $140.81 million to bilateral creditors during the quarter, comprising $101.48 million in principal, $36.49 million in interest and $2.84 million in other charges.
- Exim Bank of China received the largest bilateral payment at $70.94 million, including $57.09 million in principal and $13.85 million in interest.
- Agence Francaise Development received $45.39 million, comprising $34.87 million in principal, $8.69 million in interest and $1.83 million in other charges.
China Development Bank received $13.04 million in interest and other charges, while KfW received $11.04 million, comprising $9.52 million in principal and $1.52 million in interest.
Interest accounts for 56.5% of payments
Interest payments amounted to $491.73 million, representing 56.5% of Nigeria’s total external debt service during Q2. Principal repayments accounted for 39.0%, while other charges made up the remaining 4.5%.
Interest payments exceeded principal repayments by approximately $151.98 million, reflecting the weight of financing costs in the country’s external debt obligations.
The Q2 debt service figures came as Nigeria’s total public debt stock reached N166.79 trillion as of June 30, 2026, according to the DMO. External debt accounted for N75.20 trillion, compared with N91.59 trillion in domestic debt.
