Credit extended to the Nigerian government by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) increased by N17.39 trillion in the year to May 2026, according to new monetary statistics, highlighting the scale of public borrowing in the period.
Data from the CBN showed that credit to the government climbed to N40.38 trillion in May 2026 from N22.99 trillion in the corresponding month of 2025, representing a 75.6 percent increase over the previous year.
The latest figure also marked an increase from N39.60 trillion in April 2026, suggesting that government borrowing remained elevated even as the apex bank maintained a relatively tight monetary policy stance.
The sustained rise in credit to the government points to continued reliance on the banking system and central bank-linked financing to support fiscal operations, a trend that has remained visible in recent CBN data.
The CBN monetary statistics showed that the N17.39 trillion year-on-year increase represented a 75.6% rise in credit to the government between May 2025 and May 2026.
On a month-on-month basis, government credit rose by N779.70 billion from N39.60 trillion in April 2026, representing a 2.0% increase.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased to N81.04 trillion in May 2026 from N80.59 trillion in April 2026, representing an increase of N456.21 billion or 0.57%.
Private-sector credit remained more than twice the level of government credit, standing at about 2.01 times government credit in May 2026. However, its 0.57% monthly growth rate was lower than the 2.0% increase recorded for government credit.
