The Debt Management Office (DMO) has disclosed that the federal government spent N611.71 billion in March to service its first-ever dollar-denominated bond issued within the domestic market.
According to the DMO’s report titled ‘Actual Domestic Debt Service for January to March’, the March payment accounted for 47.05% of the N1.3 trillion total domestic debt service expenditure for the month.
The dollar bond also made up 23.4% of the N2.61 trillion spent on domestic debt servicing in the first quarter of 2025.
The agency noted that an interest payment of $44.97 million was due on March 6. Converted at the official exchange rate of N1,511.80/$, this amounted to N67.98 billion. Despite this, the total cost of servicing the bond in March reached N611.71 billion.
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The federal government launched the $500 million domestic dollar bond on August 20, 2024, offering it at $1,000 per unit to investors.
Commenting on the outcome, Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, revealed that the bond was oversubscribed by 180%, raising $900 million in total.
“The issuance of this inaugural domestic FGN US Dollar Bond shows that investors and Nigerians alike have confidence in the Nigerian economy,” Edun stated.
He added that the funds raised will be allocated to critical sectors of the economy, as approved by President Bola Tinubu.
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