Banks’ credit to the Nigerian government increased by N15.66 trillion within one year as lenders continued to expand exposure to public sector borrowing amid weaker private sector lending.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) money and credit statistics showed that government credit rose from N23.93 trillion in April 2025 to N39.60 trillion in April 2026, representing a 65.44 per cent year-on-year increase.
The development meant government borrowing accounted for the bulk of growth in domestic credit during the period.
According to the data, net domestic credit increased from N102.00 trillion in April 2025 to N120.18 trillion in April 2026, reflecting an increase of N18.18 trillion or 17.83 per cent.
Out of the total increase, government borrowing contributed N15.66 trillion, while credit to the private sector rose by only N2.52 trillion, from N78.07 trillion to N80.59 trillion.
This indicates that about 86 per cent of the annual increase in domestic credit came from government borrowing.
The CBN did not publish March 2026 figures, making month-on-month analysis difficult.
However, compared with February 2026, when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) reduced the benchmark interest rate, credit to the government increased slightly from N39.36 trillion to N39.60 trillion in April, representing a rise of N239.92 billion or 0.61 per cent.
In contrast, credit to the private sector declined sharply from N94.61 trillion in February to N80.59 trillion in April, a drop of N14.02 trillion or 14.82 per cent.
Compared with December 2025, credit to government rose by N5.38 trillion within the first four months of 2026, increasing from N34.22 trillion to N39.60 trillion.
Government borrowing also accounted for a larger share of total domestic credit, rising from 23.46 per cent in April 2025 to 32.95 per cent in April 2026.
The figures suggest that banks are increasingly channeling funds to government lending, while private sector credit growth remains under pressure.
At its 304th meeting held in Abuja, the MPC reduced the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 50 basis points to 26.5 per cent from 27 per cent.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s broad money supply (M3) rose to N124.99 trillion in April 2026 from N123.12 trillion in February, representing an increase of nearly N1.87 trillion within two months.
The increase was largely driven by growth in net domestic assets, which rose from N97.55 trillion to N100.97 trillion over the same period.
Similarly, banks’ credit to the private sector declined to N75.24 trillion in January 2026 from N75.83 trillion recorded in December 2025.
A year-on-year comparison showed that private sector lending remained below peak levels recorded in 2025, reflecting continued volatility in credit conditions and cautious lending by banks.
