President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has requested the Nigerian Senate to approve $8.6 billion for his administration. The president also asked the National Assembly to approve a 100 million loan for the government to discharge its election promise to Nigerians.
The request was contained in a letter he sent to NASS in Tuesday. Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the letter on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday.
According to the president, the loans will be used for the financing of critical infrastructure in agriculture, education, security, health, and other areas.
President Tinubu said the process of obtaining the loans started with the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The magazine learned that part of the external loans will be used to finance the 2023 Budget.
The president is set to present the 2024 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of NASS on Wednesday.
The letter reads “I write in respect of the above subject and to submit the attached federal government 2022-2024 external borrowing plan for consideration and early approval of the National Assembly to ensure prompt implementation of the projects.
“The senate may wish to note that the past administration approved a 2022-2024 borrowing plan by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) held on May 15, 2023.
“The project cuts across all sectors, with specific emphasis on infrastructure, agriculture, health, water supply, roads, security, and employment generation as well as financial management reforms.
“Consequently, the required approval is in the sum of $8,699,168,559 and €100 million.
“I would like to underscore the fact that the projects and programmes in the borrowing plan were selected based on economic evaluations as well as the expected contribution to the social economic development of the country, including employment generation, and skills acquisition.
“Given the nature of these facilities, and the need to return the country to normalcy it has become necessary for the Senate to consider and approve the 2022- 2024 external abridged borrowing plan to enable the government to deliver its responsibility to Nigerians.”
Many Nigerians are however worried that the fresh loan will further compound the debt problem facing the country.
The Debt Management Office, DMO, puts Nigeria’s total debt at $108.30 billion as of December 2022.
