The Nigerian Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s borrowing plan for 2025 and 2026. This plan includes taking loans from foreign sources to support government spending and development.
The loan request includes $21.5 billion, €2.2 billion, and 15 billion Japanese Yen. In addition to these loans, Nigeria will receive a grant of €65 million.
The approval happened during a Senate meeting after Senator Aliyu Wamakko, head of the committee on local and foreign debt, presented a report. He said the delay in approval was due to the Senate being on break and issues getting paperwork from the Debt Management Office (DMO).
The Senate also approved a domestic bond of N757.98 billion. This money will be used to clear unpaid pension benefits for retirees, some of whom have been waiting since December 2023.
Lawmakers said the loans and bonds are key parts of Nigeria’s financial plan for 2025 and 2026. These plans are explained in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), which guide the country’s economic direction.
President Tinubu said in his letter to the National Assembly that the loans are needed to help the country grow. He mentioned sectors like electricity, transportation, healthcare, schools, water, and agriculture as areas the loans will support.
He also noted that the country’s infrastructure needs serious improvement, especially now that fuel subsidy removal has made things harder for citizens and reduced the government’s earnings.
