President Bola Tinubu has formally requested approval from the National Assembly for a fresh external borrowing of ₦1.767 trillion, to be incorporated into the 2024 appropriation act.
The loan is based on an exchange rate of N800 to $1, with the aim of partly financing the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year. The president’s request was read out during Tuesday’s plenary by Speaker Tajudeen Abbass.
In addition to the loan request, Tinubu also forwarded the 2025-2027 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) to parliament. He also proposed an amendment to the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) Act, which would make the social register the primary tool for implementing the government’s welfare programs.
Last week, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a $2.2 billion external borrowing plan as part of the financing for the 2024 budget. Should both borrowing requests be approved, Nigeria’s external debt could rise to $45.1 billion by the end of 2024.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently disclosed that the federal government spent $3.58 billion servicing foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024, a 39.77% increase from the $2.56 billion spent during the same period in 2023.
Debt servicing costs peaked in May 2024 at $854.37 million, compared to $641.7 million in July 2023. Meanwhile, external debt for Nigeria’s states and the Federal Capital Territory grew from $4.61 billion to $4.89 billion during the same period.
In another letter to the Senate, Tinubu requested an amendment to the National Social Investment Agency Act, aiming to make the social register the central data source for all investment programs.
