Net credit to the government from financial institutions in the country rose by 19.26 percent, or N6.36 trillion, to N39.40 trillion in September 2026 from N33.04 trillion in the preceding month, latest data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows.
According to the updated “Money and Credit statistics,” posted on the apex bank’s website, on Wednesday, at N39.40 trillion in September 2026, net credit to the government surged by 63.09 per cent, or N15.24 trillion, when compared with the N24.16 trillion recorded for September 2025.
Further analysis of the data indicates that credit to the private sector fell by 0.64 per cent, or N537.61 billion, to N83.93 trillion in September 2026 from N84.74 trillion in the previous month. However, Year-On-Year (YoY) credit to the private sector for September this year rose by 15.73 per cent, or N11.41 trillion, from the N72.53 trillion recorded for the corresponding period of 2025.
In addition, the data shows that net credit to the government maintained a downward trend for the months of June-August 2026 before heading north in September.
Analysts warn that an increase in credit to government not only crowds out private sector investment, but could also worsen inflationary pressures.
New Telegraph reports that although the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), at its meeting last month, cut the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by a huge 350bps to 23.00 per cent from 26.50 per cent and recalibrated the Standing Facilities corridor around the MPR to +50/-300 basis points, the apex bank insisted that the move did not mean that it had abandoned its tight monetary policy stance.
Interestingly, despite the CBN’s tightening measures, the apex bank’s latest data indicates that currency outside banks rose by 0.99 percent to N4.92 trillion in September 2026 from N4.87 trillion in the preceding month.
Similarly, currency in circulation was up by 1.50 percent to N5.52 trillion in September 2026 from N5.44 trillion in the previous month.
