Data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has reveals that Nigeria’s external debt service payments in May 2024 amounted to $854 million, the highest monthly debt service payment in four years.
The previous significant high was recorded in February 2020, with debt service payments totalling $4.43 billion.
This remains the highest figure in the historical data provided by the CBN, which dates back to October 12, 2003.
The second highest was $1.52 billion; recorded on November 10, 2006, before the recent $854 million payment in May 2024 took the third spot.
A month-to-month breakdown of Nigeria’s debt servicing for 2024 showed that in January, the debt service payment was $560 million. February saw a decrease to $283 million. March recorded a slightly lower figure of $276 million, while April’s payment dropped further to $215 million.
However, May experienced a significant spike with a payment of $854 million. This brings the cumulative total for the first five months of 2024 to $2.19 billion. A retrospective look at 2023 reveals dynamic trends in Nigeria’s debt servicing, revealing that the year commenced with debt servicing at $112 million.
