States across the country have trimmed their foreign debt stock by more than $200 million in the 2024 fiscal year, according to BudgIT’s latest State of States report.
Despite this progress, Lagos remains the most indebted sub-national government in foreign currency terms, accounting for over a quarter of the total states’ external debt.
A look at BudgIT’s data revealed that Lagos, Enugu, and Gombe recorded the largest reductions in foreign debt, cutting $74.56 million, $33.39 million, and $21.88 million, respectively.
Overall, 2024 fiscal year performance marks a notable improvement from the previous period (2022–2023), when total foreign debt across the states was only reduced by $74 million.
Lagos, however, still tops the list of the most indebted states, with $1.17 billion in outstanding foreign loans, representing more than 25 per cent of all subnational external debt. It is followed by Kaduna ($625.10 million), Edo ($383.05 million), Cross River ($202.46 million), and Ogun ($192.90 million).
