The Senate is set to approve President Bola Tinubu’s $2.2 billion loan request today. The President submitted this as part of a larger external borrowing plan to support the N28.7 trillion 2024 budget.
In a letter presented during the Senate and House of Representatives plenary on Tuesday, President Tinubu explained that the loan will help bridge a portion of the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year. The letter was received by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who promptly directed the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts to review the request and provide a report within 24 hours.
Akpabio remarked, “The Presidential request for $2.2bn, equivalent to N1.77tn, is already enshrined in the external borrowing plan for the 2024 fiscal year. He ordered the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Loans to immediately review the request and report back within 24 hours
Along with the loan request, President Tinubu also presented the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for 2025–2027 to both the Senate and the House of Representatives. This document outlines the government’s plans for the next three years, including a $75 per barrel oil price benchmark, daily oil production of 2.06 million barrels, an exchange rate of N1,400 to $1, and a projected GDP growth rate of 6.4 percent. These figures form the basis for consideration and approval of the proposed N47.9tn 2025 budget.
