Nigeria recorded an average of 9,611 debtors in the first quarter of 2026, but the figure was still 88.5 per cent lower than the average recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025, raising concerns among analysts about a widening gap between credit growth and access to financing for business expansion and investment, writes ARINZE NWAFOR
Nigeria’s registered debtors rose 52.2 per cent year-on-year to an average of 9,611 in the first quarter of 2026, signalling stronger credit activity. Concurrently, the debtor size plunged 88.5 per cent from the record 83,370 quarterly average reached in the final quarter of 2025.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Quarterly Statistics, sourced from the National Collateral Registry, showed that registered debtors increased from an average of 6,313 in Q1 2025 to 9,611 in Q1 2026.
The sharp year-on-year improvement was driven largely by individuals and businesses, with the total number of registered debtors rising from 7,143 in January to 9,786 in February and 11,904 in March 2026.
Notably, the Q1 figure represented a steep reversal from the extraordinary surge recorded in Q4 2025, when monthly registrations climbed from 74,311 in October to 83,860 in November and 91,939 in December.
