AMID growing concern over the Nigerian government’s appetite for borrowing, President Bola Tinubu has requested that the National Assembly approve a new ₦1.15 trillion loan from the domestic market to help cover part of the deficit in the 2025 national budget.
The request, contained in a letter from the president, was read by Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during Tuesday’s plenary.
Tinubu stated that the borrowing was aimed at bridging the fiscal shortfall and ensuring the smooth implementation of key government programmes and projects outlined in the 2025 budget.
“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,” the letter added.
Following the reading of the letter, Akpabio referred the proposal to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt for further consideration and directed the committee to submit its report within one week.
The borrowing, economic watchers say, could worsen Nigeria’s loan repayment capacity, with the government spending over 80 per cent of its revenue in debt servicing, as Nigeria’s debt current hits N152.4 trillion, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO)
They are further worried that the borrowing request came barely five days after the Senate approved another of Tinubu’s requests – a $2.847 billion external borrowing plan, including a $500 million debut Sovereign Sukuk -aimed at financing the 2025 budget deficit and refinancing Nigeria’s maturing Eurobonds.
The ICIR reports that the earlier approval followed the presentation of a report by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, chaired by Wamakko Magatarkada Aliyu (APC, Sokoto North).
According to the committee, $2.347 billion would be sourced from the international capital market, while the remaining $500 million would be raised through Sukuk bonds to fund key infrastructure projects nationwide.
This also follows a borrowing request in May 2025, when the President sought the Senate’s approval for a $21.5 billion external loan aimed at financing critical projects across various sectors of the economy, particularly infrastructure, health, education, and water supply.
He also sought the Senate’s authorisation for a N758 billion domestic bond to settle outstanding pension liabilities under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
Accordingly, the bond issuance, amounting to N757.9 billion, is intended to address long-standing pension arrears and fulfil the government’s commitment to retired public sector workers.
Economic watchers say the loan request from the president must be scrutinised to align with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
“The National Assembly should look for possible violations of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, in terms of overreaching the threshold of borrowing as stipulated in the law. They should intensify their oversight on the borrowings; it’s not helping us at all. The citizens are not feeling the impact, in my own opinion,” a development economist, Celestine Okeke, told The ICIR.
Nigeria’s total public debt stock has climbed to ₦152.40 trillion as of June 30, 2025.
This is according to new data released by the Debt Management Office in October.
The figure represents an increase of ₦3.01 trillion or 2.01 per cent from ₦149.39 trillion recorded at the end of March 2025.
In dollar terms, the total debt rose from $97.24 billion to $99.66 billion, reflecting a 2.49 per cent increase within three months.
The latest figures underscore the Federal Government’s growing appetite for borrowing and reliance on both domestic and external borrowing to finance budget shortfalls despite the removal of subsidies and the floating of the naira, which has led to an increase in revenue to the federation account.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.