FG Cuts Ways and Means Debt by N613bn

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government’s securitised Ways and Means debt fell by N613.34 billion in the second quarter of 2026, marking its first decline since the obligation was converted into part of Nigeria’s public debt stock in 2023.

Data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) showed that the balance declined by 2.70 per cent from N22.719 trillion in March to N22.106 trillion at the end of June.

The reduction followed the expiration of the three-year moratorium on principal repayment agreed when the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Ways and Means advances were securitised.

Ways and Means Advances are temporary facilities provided by the CBN to the Federal Government to address revenue shortfalls.

At the end of June, the outstanding balance represented 25.41 per cent of the federal government’s N86.999 trillion domestic debt and 34.09 per cent of its N64.839 trillion federal government bond portfolio.

The FGN bond portfolio comprised N41.468 trillion in conventional naira bonds, N22.106 trillion in securitised Ways and Means debt and N1.265 trillion in domestic dollar bonds.

Despite the decline in the CBN-linked obligation, Nigeria’s overall public debt increased significantly during the period under review.

The debt office said total public debt rose by N14.39 trillion, or 9.44 per cent, from N152.40 trillion in June 2025 to N166.79 trillion by June 2026.

In Dollar terms, the debt stock increased by $21.27 billion, or 21.35 per cent, from $99.66 billion to $120.93 billion.

The difference was partly attributed to the stronger naira used in valuing the country’s external debt. The DMO applied an exchange rate of N1,379.1842 to the Dollar in June 2026, compared with N1,529.2105/$1 a year earlier.

On a quarterly basis, total public debt rose by N7.44 trillion, or 4.67 per cent, from N159.35 trillion in March to N166.79 trillion in June.

Domestic debt accounted for N91.59 trillion, representing 54.91 per cent of the total, while external debt stood at N75.20 trillion, or 45.09 per cent.

Within the federal government’s domestic debt, Treasury bills recorded the sharpest increase, rising by N6.72 trillion, or 52.64 per cent, year-on-year to N19.48 trillion in June.

The DMO figures also showed that conventional FGN naira bonds rose to N41.47 trillion, while promissory notes declined to N1.22 trillion from N1.73 trillion a year earlier.

The securitised Ways and Means debt, however, recorded its first quarterly reduction since its conversion into long-term government securities.