Tinubu seeks Senate’s approval of fresh N1.15 trillion domestic loan to fund 2025 budget deficit

• President Bola Tinubu is seeking the National Assembly’s approval for a fresh N1.15 trillion loan from the domestic market to fund part of the deficit in the 2025 budget
• Tinubu’s fresh loan request comes barely five days after he sought $2.847 billion external loan approval from the Senate, in addition to a similar request in May 2025
• The president’s loan requests raise concern over Nigeria’s total public debt stock, which stood at N152.40 trillion as of June 2025

President Bola Tinubu has written to the National Assembly seeking approval for a fresh N1.15 trillion loan from the domestic market to fund part of the deficit in the 2025 budget.

The fresh loan request comes barely five days after the Senate approved a $2.847 billion external borrowing plan requested by Tinubu, which included a $500 million debut Sovereign Sukuk aimed at financing the 2025 budget deficit and refinancing Nigeria’s maturing Eurobonds.

The N1.15 trillion domestic loan request was contained in a letter from the president and read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday, November 3.

According to Tinubu, the borrowing is aimed at funding the 2025 budget shortfall and ensuring the smooth implementation of key government programmes and projects outlined in the 2025 budget.

The letter read, “This request is under the provisions of Section 44 (1) and (2) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and Section 1(7) of the Executive Order, which requires National Assembly approval for all new borrowings and appropriation of the proceeds.”

After the letter was read, Akpabio referred it to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt for further consideration and directed the committee to submit its report within one week.

Tinubu had sought $2.847 billion external loan approval five days earlier

It would be recalled that Tinubu had requested the Senate to approve a $2.847 billion external borrowing request that includes a $500 million debut Sovereign Sukuk to finance the 2025 budget deficit and refinance Nigeria’s maturing Eurobonds.

The approval for the $2.847 billion loan followed the presentation of a report by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, chaired by Senator Wamakko Magatarkada Aliyu.

The committee said the $2.347 billion would be sourced from the international capital market, while the remaining $500 million would come from Sukuk bonds to fund key infrastructure projects nationwide.

The president had also made a borrowing request in May 2025, seeking the Senate’s approval for a $21.5 billion external loan to finance critical projects across various sectors of the economy, particularly infrastructure, health, education, and water supply.

In addition, he sought the Senate’s authorisation for a N758 billion domestic bond to settle outstanding pension liabilities under the Contributory Pension Scheme.

Tinubu said the N757.9 billion bond issuance was to address long-standing pension arrears and fulfil the government’s commitment to retired public sector workers.

Loan requests raise concern over Nigeria’s N152.40 trillion total public debt stock

The president’s fresh loan requests raise concerns about the country’s total public debt stock, which stood at N152.40 trillion as of June 30, 2025, according to data released by the Debt Management Office (DMO) in October.

According to the data, Nigeria’s external debt saw an increase from N70.63 trillion ($45.98 billion) in March to N71.85 trillion ($46.98 billion) as of June 2025.

The N152.40 trillion public debt profile shows a 2.01 per cent increase, representing N3.01 trillion, from the N149.39 trillion recorded as of March 2025.

Calculated in dollar terms, the total debt grew by 2.49 per cent from $97.24 billion in March to $99.66 billion in June 2025.

Tinubu presents N1.767 trillion loan proposal to address 2024 budget deficit

Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu presented a new external borrowing request to the National Assembly, seeking authorisation for N1.767 trillion under the 2024 Appropriation Act.

The loan, if granted, will help cover part of the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the year. The request was presented to the lawmakers at the Tuesday, November 19 plenary.