After steady growth, the FCT’s debt spiked sharply by 139% in Q4 2025

  • FCT Abuja’s domestic debt jumped from ₦79 billion to ₦189 billion in one quarter.
  • This equals a 139.1% quarter-on-quarter increase.
  • Before Q4 2025, debt growth was relatively moderate.
  • Debt fell in 2024 before recovering in 2025.
  • The 2025 recovery was gradual until the final-quarter spike.
  • Q4 2025 pushed debt to the highest level in the series.

FCT Abuja’s debt story changed suddenly at the end of 2025. For most of the period, domestic debt moved in relatively modest steps: ₦85 billion in Q1 2023, ₦89 billion by Q3 2023, ₦94 billion by Q1 2024, and then down to ₦53 billion by Q3 2024, before gradually recovering through 2025. Then came the break in pattern; from ₦79 billion in Q3 2025 to ₦189 billion in Q4 2025 — a 139.1% quarter-on-quarter jump.

Source:

Debt Management Office

Period:

2023-2025
HTML code to embed chart
Want a bespoke report?
Reach out
Tags
Related Insights

Alex Otti’s administration reduced Abia's domestic debt by 66%, with external debt rising by 14%
  • Abia’s domestic debt dropped by 66% between 2023 and 2025.
  • The state reduced domestic debt by about ₦94 billion.
  • Debt fell from roughly ₦138 billion to about ₦48.5 billion within two and a half years.
  • About ₦72 billion of inherited debt was cleared early in the administration.
  • External debt increased by 14% (+$12.9 million) over the same period.

Under Umo Eno, Akwa Ibom’s domestic debt fell 41.5%, from ₦138.6bn to ₦48.5bn
  • Akwa Ibom’s domestic debt fell 41.5% over the period, from ₦138.6 billion to ₦48.5 billion.
  • External debt was almost stable, slipping just 0.9%.
  • The sharpest debt adjustment happened in local-currency obligations, not foreign debt.
  • The highest domestic debt level during the period was in December 2023.

Only six states and the FCT are borrowing more domestically, with the FCT leading by a 123% domestic debt growth
  • Only six states and the FCT increased domestic debt.
  • The FCT recorded the fastest domestic debt growth at 122.8%.
  • Enugu posted the second-highest increase at 70%.
  • Lagos remains the biggest borrower by value at ₦1.2 trillion.
  • Niger, Bauchi, and Kaduna saw smaller, yet notable increases.
  • Debt growth is concentrated, not broad-based across all states.

Lagos, Rivers, and four other states account for 52% of all Nigerian states' domestic debt and 40% of their external debt
  • Lagos dominates Nigeria’s subnational debt profile, accounting for 26.1% of domestic debt and 21.8% of external debt.
  • Six states account for 52% of domestic debt.
  • The same group contributes 40% of the external debt
  • Rivers ranks second in domestic debt (9.5%) but has a significantly lower external debt (3.8%).
  • Kaduna emerges as a major external borrower (13.7%) despite not appearing among the top domestic debt states.

10 Nigerian states and the FCT cut their external debt by a combined $227.19 million in H1 2025
  • Ten states and the FCT collectively reduced their external debt by $227.19 million in H1 2025.
  • Lagos, Edo, and Rivers accounted for most of the reductions, making up more than three-quarters of the total.
  • Several smaller states also trimmed their balances, but by relatively modest amounts.
  • These reductions significantly offset the increases recorded by 26 other states, helping keep nationwide net external debt growth low.

26 Nigerian states added a combined $239m to their external debt in H1 2025
  • 26 states increased their external debt by a combined $239 million in H1 2025.
  • Imo, Oyo, Kaduna, Enugu, and Ogun recorded the biggest increases.
  • 11 states, including the FCT, reduced their debt through higher repayments.
  • Lagos, Edo, Rivers, and Bauchi accounted for most of the $227 million in reductions.
  • Total state external debt rose only slightly, from $4.8 billion to $4.812 billion.

POPULAR TOPICS
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Get periodic updates about the African startup space, access to our reports, among others.
Subscribe Here
Subscription Form

A product of Techpoint Africa. All rights reserved