This Week in Finance: Nigeria’s Biggest Stories

Nigeria spent ₦3.14 trillion servicing domestic debt in Q1 2026, more than three times the ₦989.24 billion recorded in the same period of 2024.

The jump is largely coming from higher interest costs. As the government borrows more and existing debt becomes more expensive to service, a bigger share of public money goes towards paying creditors.

And that matters beyond government accounts.

When debt servicing takes up more revenue, there is less room for spending on infrastructure, healthcare, education and other areas that businesses and households depend on. Nigeria's 2026 budget already puts debt servicing among its biggest expenditure items, while the government continues to push tax reforms and other measures to raise revenue.

For businesses, the bigger question is how long high borrowing costs can remain sustainable without slowing private-sector investment.

Nigeria's new tax regime is creating another problem for informal businesses: access to bigger customers.

The Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 introduces tighter compliance requirements, and large companies are increasingly expected to deal with vendors that can prove they are properly registered and tax compliant. The new framework came into effect from January 2026 as part of Nigeria's wider tax overhaul.

That could become a serious issue for the thousands of businesses that still operate informally.

A small business might have the product, the customers and the capacity to fulfil a large order, but if it cannot provide the required documentation, tax identification or compliance records, the corporate contract may simply go elsewhere.

The upside is that formalisation can also open doors to corporate contracts, financing and other opportunities that are harder to access as an informal business.

For Nigerians who use naira cards for international payments, things are looking very different from a few years ago.

GTBank has raised the quarterly international spending limit on its naira debit card to $20,000. Other Nigerian banks have also started restoring or expanding international card usage as dollar liquidity improves.

Remember when using a Nigerian naira card for foreign subscriptions, online services or international purchases could be a serious headache?

The change is another sign that the FX market is functioning better than it was during the period of severe dollar shortages.

The CBN's reforms, improved FX liquidity and clearance of significant forex backlogs have helped banks become more comfortable with processing international transactions again.

For Nigerians paying for software, advertising, travel, foreign subscriptions or running businesses with international suppliers, that means fewer payment restrictions.

It also gives us another small sign that the naira's FX environment is becoming more predictable, even if the story is far from over.

Geregu Power, one of Nigeria's major electricity generation companies, has run into trouble with its debt obligations, highlighting a problem that has followed the power sector for years: generating electricity is one thing; getting paid properly is another.

The company has faced pressure from the wider financial problems in Nigeria's electricity market, where generators have historically dealt with delayed payments and large receivables from the power market.

That matters because power generation requires serious upfront investment. Companies need to keep paying for gas, maintenance, equipment, staff and financing even when payments from the electricity market are delayed.

Geregu's ₦40.085 billion bond is a seven-year, 14.5% senior unsecured bond due in 2029, according to its rating agency Agusto & Co.

The bigger concern isn't just one company's missed payment.

If investors become less confident that power companies can reliably meet their debt obligations, raising money for new generation capacity becomes more difficult and more expensive.

And Nigeria still needs more reliable electricity.

So when a major power company struggles to meet its financial obligations, it is a reminder that the country's electricity problem isn't only about generation. The money flowing through the entire power value chain has to work too.