President Bola Tinubu has asked the National Assembly to approve a fresh ₦1.15 trillion loan from the domestic debt market to finance the deficit in the 2025 budget.
His request was conveyed in a letter read on the floor of the Senate during plenary on Tuesday, November 4.
The proposed borrowing is intended to bridge the funding gap and ensure full implementation of government programmes and projects for the 2025 fiscal year.
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The request was referred to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt to report back within one week for further legislative action.
Pinnacle Daily reports that the fresh loan request came barely one week after the Senate approved the President’s request to obtain $2.347 billion in foreign loans, including a $500 million debut Sovereign Sukuk, to finance part of the 2025 budget deficit and refinance Nigeria’s maturing Eurobonds.
Nigeria’s total public debt has been of concern, as it currently stands at ₦149.39 trillion as of March 31 this year, after rising by 3.27 per cent from the ₦144.66 trillion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024 amid public outcry over infrastructure deficits across the country.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X