Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data for April has disclosed that while Nigerian banks raised credit to the public sector of the economy, the same facility to the private sector dropped, in one year period under review.

According to the CBN report, banks’ loans to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government jumped by N15.66 trillion in one year, representing 65.44 per cent year-on-year (y-on-y) rise, while credit to private sector operators declined by N14.02 trillion or 14.82 per cent.

Ad >>>

The CBN’s money and credit statistics showed that credit to government increased from N23.93 trillion in April 2025 to N39.60 trillion in April 2026, representing a 65.44 per cent year-on-year (y-on-y) rise, sn indication that government borrowing from the banking system accounted for most of the annual expansion in domestic credit.

According to the data, net domestic credit rose from N102.00 trillion in April 2025 to N120.18 trillion in April 2026, an increase of N18.18 trillion or 17.83 per cent.

By contrast, credit facility to the private sector fell sharply from N94.61 trillion in February to N80.59 trillion in April, a decline of N14.02 trillion or 14.82 per cent.

Compared with December 2025, credit to government rose by N5.38 trillion, from N34.22 trillion to N39.60 trillion in April 2026.This represents a 15.71 per cent increase within the first four months of the year.

Of this figure, banks’ credit to MDAs alone 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 shows that about 86 per cent of the annual increase in domestic credit came from government borrowing.

CBN did not publish March 2026 figures, to enable a direct month-on-month analysis.

However, compared with February 2026, when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut the benchmark interest rate, credit to government rose slightly from N39.36 trillion to N39.60 trillion in April, representing an increase of N239.92 billion, or 0.61 per cent.