By Opeyemi Adelakun
Nigeria’s debt securities grew by 14.47 per cent to N175.46 trillion in 2025, driven largely by increased Federal Government borrowing to finance budget deficits, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The apex bank, in its 2025 Annual Report, said the country’s debt securities expanded by N22.13 trillion, rising from N153.28 trillion in 2024 to N175.46 trillion at the end of 2025. It attributed the increase to higher government borrowing needs and investors’ growing preference for debt securities over conventional loans because of attractive yields.
According to the report, while the overall stock of debt securities increased, the CBN’s claims on the Federal Government through debt instruments declined by 1.3 per cent to N26.40 trillion, reflecting a reduction in Ways and Means advances.
The bank also reported lower holdings of foreign debt securities and securities issued by other depository corporations as investors shifted toward Federal Government bonds and treasury bills.
Despite the increase in public borrowing, the CBN maintained that Nigeria’s public debt remained within sustainable limits, standing at N153.29 trillion as of September 2025, representing 35.55 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—well below the country’s 60 per cent debt ceiling and the 70 per cent benchmark recommended for market-access countries.
The report also showed an improvement in the country’s fiscal position, with federally collected revenue rising by 33.67 per cent to N36.08 trillion, driven by stronger oil receipts and improved non-oil tax collections.
According to the CBN, non-oil revenue accounted for 64.71 per cent of total collections, while oil revenue contributed 35.29 per cent, reflecting gains from improved tax administration, higher Value Added Tax (VAT), Corporate Income Tax (CIT), Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), oil royalties and stronger remittances from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
After statutory deductions, the distributable federation revenue stood at N21.94 trillion, with the Federal Government receiving N7.57 trillion, state governments N7.38 trillion, local governments N5.40 trillion, while oil-producing states shared N1.59 trillion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
Among the states, Lagos received the highest federation allocation at N720.50 billion, followed by Delta (N674.10 billion), Akwa Ibom (N589.14 billion), Rivers (N508.40 billion) and Bayelsa (N503.53 billion). Nasarawa received the least allocation at N157.90 billion.
The apex bank further disclosed that tax revenue remained the largest source of government earnings in 2025, contributing N32.06 trillion, or 88.87 per cent of total federally collected revenue, while income tax receipts almost doubled to N19.26 trillion during the review period.
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