Nigeria’s public debt has risen by about N14.6 trillion in one year, but citizens still cannot look up what the money borrowed by their governments has built in their communities.
Development Diaries reports that the country’s total public debt stock rose to N159.35 trillion by the end of March 2026, while domestic debt owed by the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) also increased, raising fresh questions about how governments account for the projects financed with borrowed money.
The state-level figures make the accountability problem more visible because seven states and the FCT increased their domestic debt by a combined N355 billion between December 2025 and March 2026, taking their combined debt stock to N977.15 billion, while 29 other states recorded reductions.
The FCT recorded the largest increase, with its domestic debt rising from N188.86 billion to N389.88 billion in three months, while Edo State’s debt rose from N91.18 billion to N172.37 billion.
Residents of these jurisdictions should be able to see what the additional borrowing is financing. However, neither the FCT nor Edo has published a project-level account linking the new borrowing to specific projects, contract sums and completion dates.
That missing connection is where Nigeria’s debt management problem becomes a citizen issue because a debt table can tell people how much government owes without telling them what the money was spent on.
The federal figures also show that the composition of borrowing deserves attention alongside the headline debt stock. Nigerian Treasury Bills accounted for much of the first-quarter increase, with outstanding Treasury Bills rising by N2.71 trillion or 19.6 percent from N13.85 trillion to N16.57 trillion between December 2025 and March 2026.
Treasury Bills are short-term instruments, so greater reliance on them requires government to refinance more frequently and exposes public finances to changes in interest rates when the obligations mature.
At the same time, the revenue available to states is changing as value-added tax becomes more important in federation account allocations. First-half federation account data show VAT lifting Lagos above traditional oil-producing states in allocation rankings, a shift that matters for states with smaller formal economies and weaker revenue bases.
Several of those states are also borrowing more, with Borno, Yobe and Benue all recording increases in domestic debt during the period, leaving governments with greater obligations at a time when their capacity to generate revenue outside federal allocations remains limited.
The rules governing public borrowing already require more than the publication of aggregate figures. The Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 requires borrowing to be directed towards capital expenditure and human development and provides for debt limits and reporting, while the Debt Management Office Establishment Act provides for debt records and publication.
State houses of assembly are also required to approve loans by resolution, which means there should be a public trail showing what lawmakers approved and what the borrowing was intended to finance.
That trail becomes difficult for citizens to follow once the process stops at the approval stage. A resident should be able to search for a loan and find the project it finances, how much was approved, who received the contract, when the work should be completed and whether the project was eventually delivered.
With regard to institutions responsible, the Debt Management Office (DMO) publishes aggregate debt figures, state houses of assembly approve sub-national borrowing, state ministries of finance and accountants-general execute expenditure, and the Fiscal Responsibility Commission monitors compliance with borrowing requirements.
The auditor-general for the federation and state auditors-general are responsible for checking public expenditure and reporting irregularities, although their ability to perform that role is weakened by limited resources and the poor follow-up given to audit findings.
Section 16 of the 1999 constitution directs the state to manage the national economy in a way that promotes the welfare of citizens, while Nigeria’s commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Open Government Partnership (OGP) support greater transparency in public finances.
Low-income households have the least room to absorb the consequences because they cannot easily replace a public health centre with private care, send children to better-funded schools when public schools fail or pay for private infrastructure when roads and water systems deteriorate.
Women and girls also bear much of the cost when public services weaken, particularly when women depend on functioning primary healthcare facilities or when families facing higher costs withdraw girls from school, while persons with disabilities are often among the first to lose access to public programmes when budgets tighten.
The fact that 29 states reduced their domestic debt between December 2025 and March 2026 also shows that restraint is possible. The jurisdictions that increased their borrowing should therefore explain what additional debt is financing and what citizens should expect to see from it.
Citizens can begin by asking their state-level lawmakers for the resolutions approving loans taken since December 2025 and the project schedules attached to them, then publishing whatever they receive and documenting any refusal.
They can also compare changes in their state’s debt stock in the DMO’s published tables with projects under construction in their communities and share discrepancies with relevant civil society organisations such as BudgIT and CODE.
State houses of assembly, on their part, should publish within 60 days a register linking every loan approved since 2024 to a named project, contract sum, contractor and expected completion date, while the DMO should publish quarterly sub-national debt data with a purpose field so citizens can see what each increase is intended to finance rather than only how much a state owes.
The Fiscal Responsibility Commission should publicly assess whether the eight jurisdictions that increased their debt complied with the capital expenditure requirement of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, just as the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission should also publish an analysis of how the shift towards VAT-driven allocations is affecting states with weaker revenue bases, particularly those increasing their debt.
Nigeria can borrow to finance development, but citizens should not have to guess what their governments bought with the money.
