President Tinubu Seeks Approval for N1.767 Trillion External Borrowing Plan

President Bola Tinubu has formally requested approval from the National Assembly for a new external borrowing plan amounting to N1.767 trillion as part of the 2024 appropriation act. If granted, the funds will be utilized to help finance a significant budget deficit of N9.7 trillion for the upcoming fiscal year.

The president's request was presented during a parliamentary session on Tuesday by the Speaker of the House. Alongside the borrowing plan, Tinubu also submitted the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for 2025-2027, as well as an amendment bill for the establishment of the National Social Investment Programme. This amendment aims to designate the social register as the primary mechanism for implementing the federal government’s social welfare initiatives.

The urgency of Tinubu's request comes amid alarming statistics from the Central Bank of Nigeria, which reported that the Federal Government spent $3.58 billion on servicing the country’s foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024. This figure marks a 39.77 percent increase from the $2.56 billion spent during the same period in 2023. 

The report also indicated that May 2024 saw the highest monthly debt servicing payment of $854.37 million, compared to $641.70 million in July 2023.