The Nigerian government borrowed over N3 trillion to cover non-capital expenditure in the first four months of 2022, a register that covers salaries, government running costs, and even debt repayment, a 9News Nigeria analysis of government spending data shows.

The spending comes amid Nigeria’s bloated deficit spending and poor revenue.

The government in its fiscal performance report for January through April said the spending target for the period was N5.77 trillion, while the actual spending as of April 31 was N4.72 trillion.

A breakdown of the actual spending within the quarter shows that N1.94 trillion was for debt service, and N1.26 trillion for personnel costs, including pensions. The remaining went to statutory transfers, overhead costs, and debt servicing.