The Debt Management Office (DMO) has dismissed reports claiming that the Federal Government spent N611.71 billion in March 2025 to service its first Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) United States dollar-denominated bond issued in the domestic capital market, describing the reports as entirely incorrect.
In a statement published on its official website, the DMO clarified that the actual debt service payment on the domestic US dollar bond for the first quarter of 2025 was N67.988 billion, not N611.71 billion as reported by some analysts.
According to the DMO, “The statement is wrong in its entirety. The figure published by the DMO on its website for Q1 2025 as Debt Service on the US Dollar denominated Bond was N67.988 billion and not N611.71 billion.”
The Office explained that the N611.71 billion figure cited in some reports represented the total debt service for all outstanding Federal Government of Nigeria bonds, excluding the domestic US dollar-denominated bond.
It further clarified that the figure was published in its quarterly debt service report as the Federal Government’s domestic debt service on FGN bonds for March 2025, while the debt service for the domestic US dollar bond was listed separately.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Q1 2025 Domestic Debt Service figure published on the DMO’s website for Federal Government of Nigeria Bonds in the month of March 2025 was N611.71 billion. In the same report and on a separate line, the Debt Service for Domestic FGN US Dollar Bond for March 2025 was N67.988 billion,” the statement read.
The DMO also refuted claims that the Federal Government had begun repaying the principal on the domestic dollar bond.
According to the Office, “Contrary to some claims, no amount was repaid as principal repayment on the US Dollar Bond. The Bond is to be repaid in full at maturity in 2029.”
The debt management agency urged analysts and the public to correctly interpret the figures contained in its published reports to avoid misinformation on the Federal Government’s debt obligations.
The clarification was contained in a statement published on the official website of the Debt Management Office (DMO).
