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Nigeria Rejects World Bank Report on 124% Interest

BirrMetrics · 15 hours ago · Read the Full Story on BirrMetrics
Nigeria Rejects World Bank Report on 124% Interest
AI SUMMARY

Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Finance has rejected a World Bank report stating that interest payments consumed 124 percent of federal revenue in the first half of 2026, calling the findings misleading.

  • Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Finance rejected the World Bank's report that Federal Government interest payments consumed 124 percent of revenue in the first half of 2026.
  • The ministry stated that the disputed calculation sets debt obligations serviced for other tiers of government against federal revenue alone while omitting certain income sources.
  • Federal revenue grew by 72 percent from ₦3.6 trillion in H1 2025 to ₦6.2 trillion in H1 2026.
  • Interest payments rose by 38 percent from ₦5.6 trillion to ₦7.7 trillion over the same period, causing the interest-to-revenue ratio to fall from 156 percent to 124 percent.
  • The ministry cited a World Bank projection that Nigeria's full-year 2026 debt service, including principal, will equal 46 percent of revenue.
  • The World Bank's October 2026 Nigeria Development Update reported that interest payments consumed 124.2 percent of federal revenue between January and June, exceeding government earnings by ₦1.5 trillion.
  • The World Bank attributed the surge to high domestic borrowing costs, with interest payments climbing from 2.5 percent to 3.1 percent of GDP.
  • Total public debt stood at ₦166.79 trillion as of June 2026, up from ₦159.35 trillion in March, with domestic debt accounting for about 55 percent.
  • The African Development Bank warned that debt-interest payments now rival or exceed public health spending, and the IMF urged Nigeria to broaden its tax base.
Read the Full Story on BirrMetrics
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