The Debt Management Office has refuted reports claiming that the Federal Government spent N611.71 billion to service a domestic U.S. Dollar-denominated bond in March 2025.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the DMO clarified that only N67.99 billion was actually used for debt servicing during the period, dismissing the widely circulated figure as “completely incorrect.”

DMO stated in the statement, “The figure published by the DMO on its website for Q1, 2025 as Debt Service on the US Dollar-denominated Bond was N67.988 billion and not N611.71 billion. The figure of N611.71 billion quoted by some analysts is the Debt Service for all outstanding FGN Bonds (excluding the US Dollar-denominated Bond).

“For the avoidance of Doubt, the Q1 2025 Domestic Debt Service figure published on the DMO’s website for Federal Government of Nigeria Bonds in the month of March 2025 was N611.71 billion. In the same Report and on a separate line, the Debt Service for Domestic FGN US Dollar Bond for March 2025 was N67.988 billion,” the agency noted.

The DMO further clarified that, contrary to some reports, no principal repayment was made on the U.S. Dollar-denominated bond during the period in question.

“The Bond is to be repaid in full at maturity in 2029”, the DMO stated.

Nigeria’s total public debt climbed to N149.39 trillion as of March 31, 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of N27.72 trillion or 22.8% from the N121.67 trillion recorded in March 2024.

The domestic debt component also continued its upward trajectory, hitting N78.76 trillion by the end of March 2025. This marks a 20% rise—or N13.11 trillion—from N65.65 trillion in the same period last year. On a quarterly basis, domestic debt grew by N4.38 trillion or 5.9%, up from N74.38 trillion in December 2024.