Nigeria’s debt securities grew by 14.47% to ₦175.46 trillion in 2025, driven largely by increased Federal Government borrowing to finance budget deficits, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The apex bank, in its 2025 Annual Report, said the country’s debt securities expanded by ₦22.13 trillion, rising from ₦153.28 trillion in 2024 to N175.46 trillion at the end of 2025. It attributed the increase to higher government borrowing needs and investors’ growing preference for debt securities over conventional loans because of attractive yields.
According to the report, while the overall stock of debt securities increased, the CBN’s claims on the Federal Government through debt instruments declined by 1.3% to ₦26.40 trillion, reflecting a reduction in ‘Ways and Means’ advances.
The bank also reported lower holdings of foreign debt securities and securities issued by other depository corporations as investors shifted toward Federal Government bonds and treasury bills.
Despite the increase in public borrowing, the CBN maintained that Nigeria’s public debt remained within sustainable limits, standing at ₦153.29 trillion as of September 2025, representing 35.55% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—well below the country’s 60% debt ceiling and the 70% benchmark recommended for market-access countries.
The report also showed an improvement in the country’s fiscal position, with federally collected revenue rising by 33.67% to ₦36.08 trillion, driven by stronger oil receipts and improved non-oil tax collections.
According to the CBN, non-oil revenue accounted for 64.71% of total collections, while oil revenue contributed 35.29‰, reflecting gains from improved tax administration, higher Value-Added Tax (VAT), Corporate Income Tax (CIT), Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), oil royalties and stronger remittances from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
After statutory deductions, the distributable federation revenue stood at ₦21.94 trillion, with the Federal Government receiving ₦7.57 trillion, state governments ₦7.38 trillion, local governments ₦5.40 trillion, while oil-producing states shared ₦1.59 trillion as 13‰ derivation revenue.
Among the states, Lagos received the highest federation allocation at ₦720.50 billion, followed by Delta (₦674.10 billion), Akwa-Ibom (₦589.14 billion), Rivers (₦508.40 billion) and Bayelsa (₦503.53 billion). Nasarawa received the least allocation at ₦157.90 billion.
The apex bank further disclosed that tax revenue remained the largest source of government earnings in 2025, contributing ₦32.06 trillion, or 88.87% of total federally collected revenue, while income tax receipts almost doubled to ₦19.26 trillion during the review period.
