The Federal Government has spent a total of $15.55bn on debt servicing between 2019 and 2024, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
In 2019, Nigeria paid $588.33m in debt service between January and May, while the payment for 2020 was $5.40bn.
The debt service payments continued to rise in subsequent years, with $2.02bn paid in 2021, $2.34bn in 2022, and $3.43bn in 2023.
Between January and May 2024, the country has paid $2.18bn in debt service, according to the CBN’s data.
Recently, the government received $2.25bn from the World Bank to support President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms.
This loan, described as “virtually a grant” by Edun, is expected to support the government’s economic reforms and development initiatives.
The report noted that the principal programme development objective is to raise non-oil revenues and safeguard oil and gas revenues.