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President Bola Tinubu’s request to the Senate, seeking approval to borrow an additional $7.8 billion and €100million, as part of his 2022-2024 borrowing plan.
President Bola Tinubu’s request to the Senate, seeking approval to borrow an additional $7.8 billion and €100million, as part of his 2022-2024 borrowing plan. President Bola Tinubu’s request to the Senate, seeking approval to borrow an additional $7.8 billion and €100million, as part of his 2022-2024 borrowing plan. Nigeria’s foreign debt as at June 2023, was put at $43.2 billion, while domestic debt was put at N54.1 trillion, bringing public debt to N113.4 trillion. With the presidential request for new borrowing, coupled with the depreciation of the naira, the total public debt is forecast to reach N130 trillion.
The President explained that the request was anchored on an approval given by President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, after a Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting early in May 2023. The past administration approved the 2022 – 2024 borrowing plan for the infrastructure projects at the Federal Executive Council which was held on the 15th day of May 2023.
The projects cut across all sectors with specific emphasis on infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, security and employment as well as financial management reforms, among others. The facility of the projects and programmes under the borrowing plan is USD 786.5 million and then Euro 100 million euros respectively.
The projects and programmes borrowing plans were selected based on positive technical economic evaluations as well as the expected contribution to the social economic development of the country, including employment generation, skills acquisitions, supporting the emergence of more entrepreneurs, poverty reduction and food security to improve the livelihood of an average Nigerian. These projects and programmes will be implemented in all 36 states of the federation and the federal capital territory. Given the present economic realities facing the country, it has become imperative that the resolve to use external borrowing to breach the financing gap which will be applied to key infrastructure projects including power, railway, and health, among others.
Meanwhile, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, yesterday, said the bank has committed over $11 billion in the past three years to Nigeria’s governments at both the federal and the sub-national levels.
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Some financial analysts have debunked the official reasons given for the borrowing, claiming it was rather meant as a bridging loan to cushion the country’s current balance of payment crisis.
