Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory and Rivers State accounted for more than 43 per cent of the N4.52 trillion domestic debt owed by Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT as of March 31, 2026.

This is according to the first-quarter 2026 domestic debt data released by the Debt Management Office.

Combined, the three states had a domestic debt of N1.96 trillion, representing 43.27 per cent of the total N4.52 trillion debt stock in Q1 2026.

The figures show a wide variation in the domestic debt stock across the states, with Lagos alone accounting for more than a quarter of the total.

According to the DMO, Lagos had the highest domestic debt stock at N1.21 trillion, representing about 26.6 per cent of the combined total.

The FCT followed with N389.88 billion, while Rivers State had N362.43 billion.

Delta State recorded N213.85 billion, followed by Ogun State with N200.75 billion.

At the lower end, Jigawa had the smallest domestic debt stock at N1.60 billion, followed by Ondo at N7.31 billion and Anambra at N9.62 billion.

The figures highlight the concentration of domestic debt among a relatively small number of states, with the five largest debtors accounting for a substantial share of the combined stock.

Several states recorded debt stocks below N20 billion. These included Ebonyi at N12.30 billion, Katsina at N12.69 billion and Kebbi at N14.58 billion.

The DMO’s state-level domestic debt data provides a breakdown of the outstanding domestic obligations of Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT.

The combined domestic debt stock of the states and FCT increased by N163.25 billion, or about 3.7 per cent, between December 2025 and March 2026.

The increase was driven by changes across individual states, with the FCT recording the largest rise during the period.

Its debt stock increased from N188.86 billion in December 2025 to N389.88 billion in March 2026.

Edo also recorded a significant increase, with its debt stock rising from N91.18 billion to N172.37 billion.

Borno increased from N42.64 billion to N88.44 billion, while Yobe rose from N81.00 billion to N98.59 billion.

However, some of the largest debtors recorded declines. Lagos’ debt stock fell from N1.22 trillion in December to N1.21 trillion in March, while Rivers declined from N378.81 billion to N362.43 billion.

Delta’s debt stock fell from N248.83 billion to N213.85 billion, while Ogun declined from N227.47 billion to N200.75 billion.

The DMO’s Q4 2025 data showed that the 36 states and the FCT had a combined domestic debt stock of N4.36 trillion.

The data shows that Lagos was the largest debtor at N1.22 trillion, followed by Rivers at N378.81 billion and Delta at N248.83 billion.

Ogun had N227.47 billion, while the FCT recorded N188.86 billion. Jigawa had the lowest debt stock at N1.60 billion.

Lagos State generated N1.67 trillion in recurrent revenue in the first half of 2026, achieving 90 per cent of its half-year target.

In January 2026, the Lagos State House of Assembly passed a N4.44 trillion budget for the 2026 fiscal year.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu originally presented the N4.24 trillion 2026 budget proposal to the Lagos State House of Assembly in November 2025.

For the 2026 fiscal year, the approved N4.44 trillion budget consists of N2.052 trillion in recurrent expenditure and N2.185 trillion in capital expenditure.