NIGERIA held a $2.35 billion Eurobond sale on Wednesday to raise funds to meet several needs. But it was oversubscribed and attracted a record $13 billion orders mostly from international investors who wanted to participate in the market. This means that the nation wanted $2.35 billion from investors but received buy orders to the tune of $13 billion.

The 10-year, $1.25 billion bond, maturing in 2036, cost a coupon of 8.6308 percent, while the 20-year, $1.10 billion note due in 2046, carried a coupon of 9.1297 percent.

They attracted investors’ buy-in from different classes, including fund managers, insurance and pension funds, hedge funds, banks, and other financial institutions. The investors came across multiple jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO).

President Bola Tinubu was delighted by the strong investor confidence demonstrated in the Eurobond sale, and he did not hide his excitement. According to him, “This development reaffirms Nigeria’s position as a recognised and credible participant in the global capital market,” President Bola Tinubu commented, while highlighting the significance of the offering.”

READ ALSO: Tinubu debt profile: How much has Nigeria borrowed since 2023?

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, on his part, said the successful sale demonstrated the international community’s continued confidence in Nigeria’s reform trajectory “and our commitment to sustainable, inclusive growth.”

Director-General of the DMO, Ms Patience Oniha, said the nation’s ability to access the Eurobond market to raise long term funding needed to support the growth agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was “a major achievement for Nigeria and is consistent with the DMO’s objectives of supporting development and diversifying funding sources.”

What they did not say

While all the government officials spoke about the importance of the Eurobonds and their significance to the nation’s economy, what they failed to say was the implications of the bond sale.

For starters, a Eurobond is a debt instrument that pays principal and interest in a currency different from the currency of the country where it originated, according to Investopedia.

“Since Eurobonds are issued in an external currency, they’re often called external bonds. Eurobonds are important because they help organizations raise capital while having the flexibility to issue them in another currency,” Investopedia adds.

Hence, Eurobonds are external loans and will be repaid at specified interest rates. This means that Nigeria borrowed well over $2.35 billion from investors through the bond sale. Investors purchased the instrument with dollars and will recoup their money in the same currency. The difference between this type of debt and several others, however, is the tenor.

READ ALSO: Tinubu borrows $6.5bn from World Bank as Nigeria’s debt profile exceeds N129trn

The Eurobond bills will mature in 2036 and 2046, implying that the principals will not be returned to the investors until those periods. However, Eurobonds, like other bonds, attract coupon payments, which are nominal yields paid by the issuer relative to the bond’s face or par value. The coupon payments are usually paid every six months.

However, investors won’t touch a nation’s Eurobonds if the confidence is low. If they touch them, they will only do so at higher yields to compensate for the danger of default. Currently, there is a rising investor confidence, driven by recent foreign exchange and petrol sector reforms.

Nigeria’s rising debt

Economy Post reported that the World Bank will approve $1.506 billion loan for Nigeria in December 2025.

Economy Post had reported that President Tinubu government’s loans constituted 43 percent of Nigeria’s total public debt, which stood at N152.398 trillion as of June 2025, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO) data. His administration’s debt ratio will likely rise by the time Nigeria’s debt stock is released for September 2025, Economy Post can confirm.

As of the time former President Muhammadu Buhari left office on May 29, 2023, the nation’s total public debt stood at N87.379 trillion, according to the DMO. However, with President Tinubu coming to power that same day, Nigeria’s debt profile rose thereafter, hitting N152.398 trillion as of June 2025, the data reveal.

READ ALSO: Borrowed money, borrowed future: Debt tops half of Nigeria’s GDP

This means that President Tinubu’s administration racked up N65.019 trillion between June 2023 and June 2025, marking 43 percent of the current public debt stock.

According to analysts, Nigeria’s consistent exposure to external loans is very costly. “We pay more in naira and repay with much of our revenue,” said an economist, Dr Ntia Alighigbe, who is also an international finance advisor.

“We need to find alternative revenue routes, which could include selling some of our idle assets and reducing our cost of governance. We do not have to travel to any conference abroad and should begin to question some of President Bola Tinubu’s trips, which are yet to bring positive results,” he added.