Nigeria’s federal government, led by President Bola Tinubu, is projected to spend over ₦91 trillion on debt servicing between 2023 and 2028.

The figure underscores the rising burden of public borrowing amid consistently weak revenue performance.

The estimate draws on debt service allocations in the 2023 and 2024 budgets, the 2025 Appropriation Act, and forward projections outlined in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework for 2026–2028, according to Nairameteics.

The projected scale of debt service reflects rising fiscal deficits, a rapidly growing debt stock, and high interest rates—factors that have intensified since 2023.

Nigeria’s federal debt obligations have surged, both in budgeted allocations and actual spending.

In 2023, the government planned ₦6.56 trillion for debt service but ended up spending ₦8.56 trillion, overshooting the budget by about ₦2 trillion.

In 2024, the gap widened further, with a budgeted ₦8.27 trillion ballooning to ₦12.63 trillion in actual outlay.

For 2025, debt service has been set at ₦14.32 trillion.

By the end of the first seven months of 2025, actual debt service had already reached ₦9.8 trillion, surpassing the pro-rated target of ₦8.35 trillion.

Looking ahead, the MTEF projects debt service of ₦15.9 trillion in 2026, rising to ₦19.8 trillion in both 2027 and 2028.

Overall, the total budgeted debt service for the six-year period amounts to ₦84.6 trillion, though historical trends indicate that actual outlays could surpass ₦91 trillion.

While the government plans to spend ₦114.8 trillion on capital projects over the same period, actual releases have consistently lagged behind debt service payments.

In 2023, capital spending totaled ₦6.3 trillion, well below the ₦8.56 trillion spent on debt service.

The gap widened in 2024, with capital expenditure falling short of debt service by ₦11.5 trillion, as interest and principal repayments absorbed a growing share of resources.

The situation has worsened in 2025, with pro-rated capital spending for the first seven months at just ₦3.59 trillion, far below the ₦13.6 trillion expected under the budget.

This indicates that capital projects are once again taking a backseat, with debt obligations consuming the bulk of government resources.

Nigeria is becoming increasingly trapped in a fiscal pattern where debt service rises faster than revenue, crowding out capital spending and constraining the government’s capacity to invest in infrastructure, healthcare, education, and other productivity-enhancing sectors.