Financial institutions’ total loans to the government rose by 4.76 per cent, or N1.14 trillion, to N25.07 trillion in May this year from N23.93 trillion in the preceding month, latest data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows.

Saturday Telegraph’s analysis of the latest “Money and Credit statistics,” posted on the apex bank’s website, yesterday, however, indicates that at N25.07 trillion in May this year, net credit to the government dropped by 11.63 per cent when compared with the N28.38 trillion recorded for May 2024.

Further analysis of the data shows that credit to the private sector fell by 0.32 per cent to N77.83 trillion in May 2025, from N78.08 trillion in the previous month.

Thus, this means that net domestic credit stood at N102.90 trillion in May compared with N102.02 trillion in April.

Analysts note that an increase in net credit to the government raises concerns about a likely widening of the government’s fiscal deficit and a crowding out of the private sector.

Indeed, analysts at FBNQuest Research, citing the widening fiscal deficit, had predicted in a report that domestic borrowing by the government would continue to crowd out the private sector.

Meanwhile, further analysis of the data shows that while Currency Outside Banks (COB) rose by 1.42 per cent to N4.66 trillion in May 2025, from N4.57 trillion in the preceding month, Currency in Circulation for both months was flat at N5.01 trillion.