…As FG deepens borrowing strategy amid fiscal pressures
The 10th Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to secure external loans amounting to $6 billion, a move that underscores the Federal Government’s increasing reliance on foreign financing to sustain public spending, infrastructure development and debt management.
The approval was granted within three and a half hours after the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, read the President’s request letter during plenary.
The decision followed the consideration and adoption of a report presented by Senator Aliyu Wamakko (APC, Sokoto-North), who chairs the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts.
President Tinubu’s borrowing request was conveyed in two separate letters addressed to Akpabio and read on the Senate floor yesterday.
In the first letter, the President sought approval to establish a structured total-return-swap (TRS) external financing programme of up to $5 billion with First Abu Dhabi Bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He explained that the facility would be accessed in tranches. The President noted that the request was in line with the provisions of Sections 21(1) and 27(1) of the Debt Management Office Establishment Act, 2003, which require National Assembly approval for such transactions.
Tinubu stated that the funds would be used for budget implementation, execution of key infrastructure projects, and refinancing of costly domestic and external debts. He added that the facility would also provide flexibility in meeting urgent financial obligations. He further disclosed that Nigeria’s total public debt stood at $110.3 billion, equivalent to about ₦159.2 trillion, as of December 31, 2025, noting that the phased drawdown of the loan would help ease pressure on debt servicing.
In a separate letter, the President requested approval for the issuance of naira-denominated federal government securities as collateral for the facility, as well as the payment of margin obligations in US dollars.
Tinubu also sought Senate approval for a $1 billion loan facility from UK Export Finance, arranged through Citibank’s London branch, to fund the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Lagos Port Complex and Tin-Can Island Port.
