Just In: President Tinubu Seeks National Assembly Approval for N1.77 Trillion in External Borrowing

Babatunji Wusu –

• President Tinubu seeks N1.767 trillion in external loans to help finance Nigeria’s 2024 budget deficit of N9.7 trillion.
• The MTEF/FSP 2025-2027 and National Social Investment Programme Amendment Bill have also been submitted to the National Assembly.
• The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reports a 39.77% increase in foreign debt servicing costs, with the government spending $3.58 billion in the first nine months of 2024.
• Debt servicing costs surged by 398.89% in January 2024 compared to January 2023, highlighting the increasing financial burden.

President Bola Tinubu has formally requested the National Assembly’s approval for an external loan of N1.767 trillion as part of a new borrowing plan for the 2024 appropriation act. If approved, the loan will help finance a portion of the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year. The request was officially presented by the Speaker of the National Assembly during plenary on Tuesday.

Additionally, the president has submitted the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for the years 2025-2027 to the legislature. He has also forwarded the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) Establishment Amendment Bill, which aims to make the social register the primary tool for implementing the government’s social welfare programs.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reported that the Federal Government spent $3.58 billion on servicing the country’s foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024. This represents a significant 39.77% increase from the $2.56 billion spent during the same period in 2023.

The CBN’s international payment statistics show that the largest monthly debt servicing payment in 2024 occurred in May, amounting to $854.37 million, compared to the highest monthly expenditure in 2023, which was $641.70 million in July. The rising cost of debt obligations is evident from the data, which also reveals a dramatic 398.89% increase in debt servicing costs in January 2024, reaching $560.52 million, up from $112.35 million in January 2023. However, in February 2024, there was a slight reduction in payments by 1.84%, with debt servicing dropping from $288.54 million in 2023 to $283.22 million in 2024.