The Federal Government has disagreed with the World Bank on the latter’s concerns that interest payments of N7.7tn in the first half of 2026 threaten the country’s debt sustainability.
The ministry stated its position in a statement issued on Sunday and shared on X by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele.
The World Bank in its recent Nigeria Development Update (NDU) had raised concern over Nigeria’s debt servicing/revenue ratio for the first half of 2026, put at 124 per cent.
However, according to the ministry, Nigeria’s fiscal position had improved, with revenue growing faster than interest payments.
The Federal Ministry of Finance described reports that interest payments amounted to 124 per cent of Federal Government revenue during the period as misleading, arguing that the calculation relied on incomplete revenue figures and included debt obligations serviced on behalf of state governments. The ministry also argued that the revenue figure excluded income earned by government agencies and enterprises but not yet remitted to the Treasury.
It added that statutory payment schedules meant some taxes were collected predominantly in the second half of the year, making first-half revenue an incomplete basis for assessing annual debt obligations.