Nigeria’s Missing Budget Reports Raise Concerns Over Debt, Spending Transparency

Nigeria’s Missing Budget Reports Raise Concerns Over Debt, Spending Transparency

Nigeria’s failure to publish budget implementation reports since the third quarter of 2025 is raising concerns about transparency and accountability in public spending, amid a growing disagreement between the Federal Government and the World Bank over the country’s debt-servicing burden.

The World Bank’s latest Nigeria Development Update estimates that the Federal Government spent N7.7 trillion on interest payments in the first half of 2026, exceeding its reported revenue of N6.2 trillion within the same period.

The figures suggest that interest payments alone outstripped government revenue, intensifying concerns about the resources available for critical public services, infrastructure and other budgetary commitments.

However, the Ministry of Finance has disputed the interpretation of the figures, arguing that the assessment excludes certain revenue items and fails to adequately account for debt servicing undertaken by the Federal Government on behalf of state governments.

The disagreement raises questions about how Nigeria’s fiscal position is measured and the extent to which debt obligations are constraining public expenditure. The absence of recent budget implementation reports also limits the ability of citizens, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to independently assess government revenue, expenditure and borrowing.

Data from the Debt Management Office show that Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N166.8 trillion as of June 2026, with the Federal Government accounting for N152.7 trillion, or approximately 92 per cent of the total.

The combination of rising debt obligations, competing assessments of interest payments and gaps in the publication of budget performance data underscores the need for more consistent fiscal disclosures.

Without timely and comprehensive reporting, it becomes harder to determine how much revenue the government generates, how much it spends on debt servicing and how much remains available to fund public services and development priorities.

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