₦airaland Forum

Nigeria recently announced the full repayment of the $3.4 billion emergency loan obtained in 2020 from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with the final installment paid ahead of schedule on April 30, 2025.

The loan, taken under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, was meant to cushion the economy against the oil price crash and recession risk.

The IMF has confirmed that Nigeria no longer appears on its list of debtor countries. Nigeria has also never taken an IMF bailout loan.
However, while this repayment signals a commitment to fiscal responsibility, Nigeria still owes a total of N74.38 trillion in domestic debt and $44.9 billion in external debt as of December 2024.
This is based on the most recent data published by the Debt Management Office (DMO), which has yet to publish the data for the first quarter of 2025.

Domestic Debt: Bonds and Bills Lead the Pack
Nigeria’s domestic debt profile continues to be dominated by long-term and short-term instruments issued by the Federal Government:

FGN Bonds: N55.44 trillion
Nigerian Treasury Bills: N12.35 trillion
Other Domestic Instruments: N3.97 trillion
Promissory Notes: N1.54 trillion
FGN Sukuk Bonds: N992.56 billion
FGN bonds alone make up nearly 75% of all domestic debt, highlighting the government’s continued reliance on the bond market to fund its budget deficit.

External Debt: Eurobonds and the World Bank Dominate
Despite paying off the IMF loan, Nigeria’s external debt burden remains substantial. As of December 2024, total foreign debt stood at $44.9 billion, with the top five creditors being:

Eurobond holders – $17.32 billion
World Bank (IDA) – $16.56 billion
Exim Bank of China – $5.06 billion
African Development Bank (AfDB) – $2.10 billion
IBRD (World Bank) – $1.24 billion

Notably, Nigeria’s exposure to commercial debt markets through Eurobonds means higher interest costs and increased vulnerability to refinancing risks.

While the principal IMF loan has been cleared, Nigeria is still obligated to make annual payments of around $30 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) as part of service charges and administrative fees until 2029.

These charges are standard for IMF facilities.

Still, the repayment improves Nigeria’s image in global financial circles and may help its case in future multilateral and bilateral negotiations.

Why Is the Debt Still Growing?
Several key drivers explain the growing debt pile:

Currency Devaluation: With the naira trading around N1,550/$1, dollar-denominated debt now translates to more in naira terms.

High Budget Deficits: The federal government continues to finance large deficits by borrowing both locally and abroad.

Refinancing Needs: Maturing short-term securities like Treasury Bills mean that existing debt is often rolled over or refinanced at higher costs.

What you should know
While Nigeria’s repayment of the IMF loan marks a positive step, analysts caution that broader debt sustainability remains a concern.

The government still faces a heavy debt service burden, especially as Eurobond maturities approach and global interest rates remain relatively high.

To reduce dependency on borrowing, Nigeria will need to expand non-oil revenues, rein in recurrent spending, and deepen structural reforms.

Debt can be a tool for growth—but only when it’s used wisely and managed prudently

Yorubaskullmine:
With the vast human and natural resources at its disposal, this country has no business borrowing.
Well I blame the lenders who due to selfish interests are always available to lend.

Agbegbaorogboye:
Apologies to zero8zero
I was wrong
Nigeria actually owes the WB $17.8bn and not the $13.5bn I claimed. The $13.5bn was from Buhari era. Tinubu has added $4.3bn to it

donratcock:
By the time Tinubu’s tenure elapses, the debt would quadrupled to over 200 billion dollars.

richie240:
Ndi-emergency Nigerians always looking for ways to drag nigeria in d mud.


And how much is mighty Amelika owing again??

richie240:
Ndi-emergency Nigerians always looking for ways to drag nigeria in d mud.


And how much is mighty Amelika owing again??

Agbegbaorogboye:
Apologies to zero8zero
I was wrong
Nigeria actually owes the WB $17.8bn and not the $13.5bn I claimed. The $13.5bn was from Buhari era. Tinubu has added $4.3bn to it

Agbegbaorogboye:
Apologies to zero8zero
I was wrong
Nigeria actually owes the WB $17.8bn and not the $13.5bn I claimed. The $13.5bn was from Buhari era. Tinubu has added $4.3bn to it

nairalanda1:
We are always going to borrow because the basis of our budget is monies for oil. Less than 20% comes from taxes.

Even if we diversified and sold all our resources we will still borrow.

That is because we don't control the prices of said resources. And they don't favour us most of the time. So there be budget shortfalls and thus borrowing

If we used our resources to make goods that the world needs , well we would reduce our dependency on borrowing

Agbegbaorogboye:
Nigeria's total debt is N144trn as well

ibabz:
You are right. The same way OBJ and Yaradua borrowed to finance the economy. Most you people defend incompetence?

ALTERNATEID:
When Tinubu became president in 2023, we owed foreign airlines over $3billion and owe foreign bank about $6billion in unpaid letters of credit. In fact, things were so bad that JP Morgan had to quickly announce that our net reserve as at that time was $3.7 billion.

Today, the Tinubu administration has cleared all the foreign airline debt and also paid all the letters of credit debt to foreign banks. We’ve also at the same time moved our net reserve from $3.7 billion to over $23 billion in less than two years. In addition, we’ve cleared our IMF loan obtained during the covid pandemic era completely and that’s a fact. Just two days ago, we cleared the first tranche of N100billion Sukuk bond that was taken by the Buhari administration.

When the opposition media try to ridicule governments effort, it’s very important we contextualize the issues and remind ourselves where we are coming from. The transparency and accountability that this current administration has displayed when it comes to public debt is astounding. Something we’ve never seen before.

ibabz:
Those celebrating that Tinubu paid $3.5b loan, pls when is Tinubu going to pay the remaining loans? Since he wants to equal OBJ achievements in 2yrs.

$44.9 billion, with the top five creditors being:
Eurobond holders – $17.32 billion
World Bank (IDA) – $16.56 billion
Exim Bank of China – $5.06 billion
African Development Bank (AfDB) – $2.10 billion
IBRD (World Bank) – $1.24 billion

AntiChristian:
So na OBJ template you dey worship now?

Wey them chop the economy silently in the midst of plenty!

Agbegbaorogboye:
https://nairametrics.com/2025/05/13/public-debt-nigerias-biggest-creditors-after-repaying-imf-loans/