Data by the Debt Management Office (DMO), has revealed that Nigeria’s external debt service obligations rose to $1.08 billion in Q4 2024.
This represents a significant rise from the previous quarter when the country’s total debt service was N3.57 trillion, up by N60 billion or 1.71 per cent from N3.51 trillion in Q2.
The report, which covers the breakdown of external debt service payments by creditor category, revealed that multilateral loans accounted for the largest share of debt service, followed by commercial and bilateral loans.
During the review period, Nigeria paid a total of $600.71 million to multilateral lenders, representing 55.7 per cent of total debt service in the period.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) led this group, receiving $407.97 million, the highest payment to any creditor.
Other key payments include: International Development Association (IDA): $116.48 million; African Development Bank (AfDB): $43.89 million; International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD): $14.48 million; and Islamic Development Bank (IsDB): $5.83 million
Commercial Creditors also took $430.53 million, or 39.9% of total external debt service, while Eurobond debt alone accounted for $148.57 million and $280.16 million was paid on Syndicated Loans, which made up the bulk of commercial debt repayments.
Smaller payments were also made to UniCredit S.P.A ($1.54 million), Standard Chartered Bank ($144k), and Deutsche Bank AG ($108k).
The data further showed that debt service to bilateral lenders stood at $46.85 million, or 4.3 per cent of the total and that majority of the payments were made to France’s Agence Française de Développement (AFD), which received $33.13 million, followed by Germany (KfW) followed with $11.84 million, while China Development Bank received $1.88 million.
No debt service payments were recorded to Japan, China Exim Bank, or India Exim Bank during the period.
