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The Senate has approved a request by President Bola Tinubu to secure fresh external loans totalling $6 billion to address fiscal shortfalls and fund major infrastructure projects.
The approval followed the consideration of a report presented by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Senator Aliyu Wamakko.
The decision came shortly after the President formally wrote to the Senate seeking legislative approval for the loan facilities, highlighting the Executive’s drive to fund priority sectors.
In a letter addressed to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and read during plenary, Tinubu requested approval to obtain $5 billion from Abu Dhabi Bank to finance the budget deficit and service existing debt obligations.
In a separate request, the President also sought approval for a $1 billion loan facility from UK Export Finance through Citibank in London to finance the rehabilitation of key port infrastructure.
Tinubu explained that the projects—covering the Lagos Port Complex and Tin Can Island Port—are intended to address long-standing operational challenges and reposition Nigeria’s maritime sector. According to him, the initiatives will improve efficiency, strengthen safety standards, support diversification of Nigeria’s non-oil trade, and enhance Nigeria’s status as a regional trade hub.
Following the presentation of the requests, Akpabio referred both to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, instructing the panel to fast-track its review and report back swiftly, a move that led to Tuesday’s approval.
The latest borrowing plan comes amid the Federal Government’s continued reliance on both domestic and external loans to finance budget deficits and critical infrastructure.
Just four months earlier, the National Assembly approved Tinubu’s request to raise N1.15 trillion from the domestic debt market to fund the 2025 budget deficit, effectively completing the government’s financing strategy for the year.
Both chambers endorsed the borrowing after reviewing reports from their respective committees on local and foreign debts.
At the Senate, approval followed the adoption of the report presented by Wamakko’s committee, which outlined key provisions of the 2025 Appropriation Act.
The committee noted that the 2025 budget provides for total expenditure of N59.99 trillion—an increase of N5.25 trillion from the initial N54.74 trillion proposed by the Executive—underscoring the widening fiscal gap and the government’s dependence on borrowing to bridge the deficit.
