Nigeria’s recurrent debt hit N3.69 trillion in Q4 2024, exceeding the projected N2.07 trillion by N1.63 trillion (78.63 per cent), driven primarily by external debt servicing obligations that were over 200% above projections.
Nigeria’s recurrent debt profile exceeded government projections by a substantial N1.63 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF)’s Q4 2024 Budget Implementation Report.
The report noted that total recurrent debt stood at N3.69 trillion, a 78.63 per cent increase over the N2.07 trillion projected for the quarter. This sharp rise reflects mounting fiscal pressures from servicing both domestic and external debts.
Actual external debt service obligations reached N2.12 trillion, drastically overshooting the projected N686.90 billion by N1.42 trillion (207.14 per cent). The BOF attributed this jump to “exchange rate adjustments and maturing obligations under various bilateral and multilateral loan agreements.”
Domestic debt servicing cost N1.32 trillion, slightly above the quarterly estimate. Personnel costs for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) were fully funded at 100 per cent of the full-year projection. However, overhead cost releases totaled N671.15 billion, which the report stated was “N101.98 billion (13.98 per cent) lower than the budget projection of N773.13 billion.” The significant debt variance highlights a growing strain on the government’s fiscal position.