ABUJA — The Federal Ministry of Finance has described as misleading reports that the Federal Government's interest payments reached 124 per cent of its revenue in the first half of 2026, a figure drawn from the World Bank's October Nigeria Development Update. In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said the figure includes debt the Federal Government services on behalf of other tiers of government and excludes revenue not yet remitted by agencies. It said revenue rose 72 per cent in the first half, from N3.6 trillion to N6.2 trillion, while interest payments rose 38 per cent, from N5.6 trillion to N7.7 trillion. The ministry said the ratio stood at 156 per cent in the first half of 2025, and that the World Bank projects debt service at 46 per cent of revenue for the whole of 2026.