Federal and state governments have reduced their debt, supported by increased disbursements from Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
Gatekeepers News reports that National Orientation Agency (NOA) in a report released on Saturday, revealed that Nigeria’s 36 states and 774 local governments received a combined N9.58 trillion from FAAC in 2024.
This figure represents a 55.5% rise from the N6.16 trillion shared in 2023 and is markedly higher than the N4.79 trillion distributed in 2022.
The total disbursement pool in 2024 reached N15.26 trillion, bolstered by enhanced oil revenues and improved tax collection, the NOA stated.
This windfall strengthened liquidity and solvency across various levels of government, enabling many states to reduce borrowing and carry out “unprecedented debt repayments.”
Between June 2023 and December 2024, the domestic debt profile of Nigeria’s 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) dropped from N5.82 trillion to N3.97 trillion, a reduction of N1.85 trillion over 18 months.
The report reads, “ Today, at least 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have reduced their domestic debt portfolios at an unprecedented rate.”
“Thus, within a period of 18 months, spanning June 2023 to December 2024, these states have repaid a whopping total sum of N1.85 trillion to their creditors.”
Delta State led with N265.83 billion in repayments, more than half of its previous N465.4 billion debt. Lagos came next with N96.23 billion, followed by Imo (N94.70 billion), Cross River (N85.91 billion), and Ogun (N81.35 billion).
Jigawa State reduced its debt by 96%, slashing N41.8 billion out of N43.13 billion. Ondo State also made strides, cutting its debt by 82.6%, reducing it from N74 billion to N61.6 billion.
However, not all states followed the debt-reduction trend. Rivers, Niger, and Enugu States increased their borrowings during the period. Niger State’s debt rose by N18.79 billion, Enugu added N26.09 billion, and Rivers State topped the list with an increase of N138.89 billion.
The NOA further reported a significant drop in Nigeria’s total public debt — from $113.42 billion in June 2023 to $94.22 billion by December 2024. One major achievement highlighted was the federal government’s full repayment of its $3.264 billion loan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
At the start of President Bola Tinubu’s tenure in June 2023, the IMF debt stood at $3.264 billion. By December 2023, it had declined to $2.469 billion, and by December 2024, it dropped further to $800.23 million. The outstanding amount was fully cleared in the second quarter of 2025, according to confirmation from the IMF.
The report added, “ “Thanks to increased revenue inflows, Nigeria’s revenue-to-debt service ratio has improved from 97 percent in early 2023 to 65 percent by the end of 2024.”
NOA noted that in total,federal government spent N8.81 trillion on domestic debt service in the first 18 months of Tinubu administration, over three times the N2.56 trillion spent in 2022 under the previous government.
