Senate okays FG’s $6.1bn foreign loan request

Nigerian Senate has approved the federal government’s request for a $6.1 billion (N2.343 trillion) loan request.

The Senate, on Wednesday gave the approval after it considered a report from its Committee on Local and Foreign Debt which it earlier directed to work on the loan request.

Presenting the report on the floor during plenary, the Chairman of the committee, Senator Clifford Ordia noted that the request is not new as it was approved in the borrowing plan when the National Assembly passed the 2021 budget, adding that it would be used to fund the budget deficit.

President Muhammadu Buhari had in May asked the National Assembly to approve the loan request, explaining that it would be raised from multilateral and bilateral tenders as well as the international capital market.

The Committee recommended that the Senate approves Buhari’s request for the issuance of $3,000,000,000 but not more than $6,183,081,643.40 Eurobond in the International Capital Market.

The External Borrowing of N2,343,387,942,848,  according to the panel, should be for the financing of part of the deficit authorised in the 2021 Appropriation Act.

The Committee also recommended that the Senate should approve that the amount authorised may be raised from multiple sources such as the International Capital Market and any other Multilateral or Bilateral sources as may be available.