Nigeria’s total public debt stock rose to N159.35tn at the end of March 2026, increasing by almost N10tn within one year, latest figures from the Debt Management Office have shown.
An analysis of the DMO data by The PUNCH on Friday showed that the country’s debt increased by N9.96tn or 6.67 per cent from N149.39tn recorded at the end of March 2025 to N159.35tn one year later.
In dollar terms, the increase was considerably higher at 18.22 per cent, with the debt stock rising by 97.24bn to $`114.95bn over the period.
However, the three-month movement between December 2025 and March 2026 was far more modest in naira terms.
Total public debt rose by just N75.51bn or 0.05 per cent from N159.28tn at the end of December to N159.35tn in March. In dollar terms, however, the debt climbed by $3.98bn or 3.59 per cent from $110.97bn during the same period.
