Nigeria’s outstanding debt securities increased by 14.47 per cent to ₦175.46 trillion in 2025 as the Federal Government expanded borrowing to finance budget deficits, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The apex bank disclosed this in its 2025 Annual Report, revealing that the country’s debt securities grew by ₦22.13 trillion, up from ₦153.28 trillion recorded in 2024.
According to the report, the increase was driven by higher government borrowing requirements and investors’ growing preference for debt instruments over conventional lending due to attractive market yields.
Despite the overall rise in debt securities, the CBN’s claims on the Federal Government through debt instruments declined by ₦348.58 billion, representing a 1.3 per cent decrease, to ₦26.40 trillion from ₦26.74 trillion in 2024.
The bank attributed the reduction mainly to lower domestic claims on the Federal Government following a decline in Ways and Means advances.
The CBN also reported a drop in its holdings of foreign debt securities, which fell by ₦303.62 billion, or 1.85 per cent, to ₦16.08 trillion, citing weaker foreign investment inflows and portfolio adjustments.
Debt securities issued by Other Depository Corporations (ODCs) declined sharply by 42.2 per cent to ₦10.56 billion, as investors shifted towards treasury bills and Federal Government bonds amid high interest rates.
However, ODCs increased their investments in Federal Government debt instruments by ₦2.24 trillion, representing a 12.5 per cent increase, bringing their total holdings to ₦20.15 trillion during the review period.
The report further showed that Nigeria’s total public debt stood at ₦153.29 trillion as of September 2025, equivalent to 35.55 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). According to the CBN, this remains well below Nigeria’s 60 per cent debt ceiling and the 70 per cent benchmark recommended for market access economies.
On the fiscal side, the CBN reported a significant improvement in government revenue, with federally collected revenueincreasing by 33.67 per cent to ₦36.08 trillion in 2025.
The growth was attributed to stronger collections from both oil and non-oil sources, particularly Value Added Tax (VAT), Companies Income Tax (CIT), Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) and oil royalties, supported by improved tax administration and stronger compliance.
Non-oil revenue accounted for ₦23.35 trillion, representing 64.71 per cent of total revenue, while oil revenue almost doubled to ₦12.73 trillion, driven by higher remittances from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and improved petroleum tax collections.
After statutory deductions of ₦15.78 trillion, the Federation recorded ₦21.94 trillion in distributable revenue, supported by exchange gains, excess non-oil revenue and excess oil revenue.
From the distributable revenue, the Federal Government received ₦7.57 trillion, while state governments shared ₦7.38 trillion and local governments received ₦5.40 trillion. Oil-producing states also received ₦1.59 trillion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
Among the states, Lagos received the highest federation allocation at ₦720.50 billion, followed by Delta, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Bayelsa, while Nasarawa recorded the lowest allocation. Ekiti, Ebonyi, Gombe and Taraba were also among the states with the smallest allocations.
The CBN added that tax revenue remained the primary source of government earnings, contributing ₦32.06 trillion, or 88.87 per cent of total federally collected revenue, while non-tax revenue declined significantly during the year.
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