Debt, Debt Service & Revenue Problems

According to a report from the Debt Management Office (DMO) via TheCable, Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio in 2023 was about 73.5%, which is far above the recommended threshold of 50%. This implies that a very large portion of government revenue is tied to servicing debt, leaving less for other priorities.

Also, Nigeria’s public debt-to-GDP ratio (45.4%) exceeds the government’s self-imposed limit of 40%.

Finance and economic voices (including former minister Zainab Ahmed) argue that rather than debt being the main problem, the issue is revenue generation — i.e. the government isn’t earning enough relative to its obligations.