THE National Assembly has received a formal request from President Bola Tinubu for a $21.5 billion external loan and a N758 billion domestic bond to settle outstanding pension liabilities.

The requests were read on the floor of the Senate during plenary on Tuesday, May 27.

The loan is aimed at financing critical projects across various sectors of the economy, particularly infrastructure, health, education, and water supply.

It has been referred to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for scrutiny, with a report expected within two weeks.

Similarly, Tinubu sought the Senate’s authorisation for the issuance of Federal Government bonds in the domestic debt market to settle outstanding pension liabilities under the Contributory Pension Scheme.

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.

The president also requested Senate approval to raise $2 billion from the domestic market to support investments in critical sectors of the economy.

“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,” Tinubu stated.

The request was also referred to the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for consideration within two weeks.

Tinubu had written to the House of Representatives, requesting approval for the revised 2025–2026 external borrowing plan.

Under the plan, the president sought to borrow $21.5 billion, €2.2 billion, 15 billion Japanese yen, and a €65 billion grant.

According to the letter, read on the floor of the House by the Speaker, the loans are intended to address the country’s infrastructure deficit and improve employment, among other objectives.

The ICIR can report that Nigeria’s total public debt rose to N144.67 trillion as of December 31, 2024.

This is because the Federal Government depends on both external and domestic borrowing to fund critical projects amid revenue shortfalls.

However, there have been calls on the government to be more prudent in its spending while utilising its limited resources for strategic purposes.

In its 2025 Appropriation Act, the Federal Government is running on a N54.99 trillion budget. However, a recent disclosure by BudgIT raised concern that over 11,000 projects worth nearly N7 trillion were inserted in the 2025 budget by the National Assembly.

A breakdown of the budget shows the country is to spend N14.317 trillion for debt servicing, N13.64 trillion for recurrent expenditure, and N23.963 trillion on capital expenditure (development fund), with the fiscal deficit put at N13.08 trillion.