The Federal Government has pushed back against a World Bank finding that Nigeria spent more on interest payments than it earned in revenue in the first half of 2026.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the Federal Ministry of Finance said the figure, which puts federal interest payments at 124% of revenue, is distorted and misleading.
What the World Bank said
The figure comes from the World Bank’s October 2026 Nigeria Development Update. It indicated that the Federal Government paid about N7.7 trillion in interest in the first six months of 2026, more than the revenue it collected in the same period.
The number quickly spread online and in the media, fuelling worries that Nigeria is borrowing just to pay interest on old debts.
Why the government says it is wrong
The ministry gave three main reasons:
- Apples and oranges: the interest figure includes debts the Federal Government services on behalf of state governments, such as external loans taken by states, while the revenue figure counts only federal earnings.
- Missing revenue: the calculation leaves out money earned by government agencies and enterprises that has not yet been paid into the Treasury.
- Bad timing: revenue usually rises in the second half of the year because of when certain taxes are paid, so a six-month snapshot looks worse than the full year.
The government’s numbers
The ministry said its own figures tell a more positive story:
- Federal revenue rose 72%, from N3.6 trillion in H1 2025 to N6.2 trillion in H1 2026.
- Interest payments rose 38%, from N5.6 trillion to N7.7 trillion.
- The gap between interest and revenue narrowed from N2 trillion to N1.5 trillion.
- For the full year 2025, interest was below 60% of revenue, down from 97% before the reforms.
The ministry noted that the World Bank itself projects Nigeria’s full-year 2026 debt service (interest plus principal) at about 46% of revenue.
“This is a clear sign of the progress delivered by the current administration’s reforms,” the ministry said. It added that all borrowing stayed within the limits approved by the National Assembly and complied with the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Debt Management Office Act.
What it means for Nigerians
Debt service matters to every Nigerian, because money spent on interest cannot be spent on roads, hospitals, schools or security. Even on the government’s own numbers, interest payments in the first half of 2026 were still N1.5 trillion higher than federal revenue, which shows how heavy the debt burden remains.
Economists will be watching the second-half figures closely to see whether revenue keeps rising faster than interest costs, as the government says it will.
Sources: Federal Ministry of Finance statement, Daily Nigerian, BusinessPost, Naija News.