Abuja, Nigeria – The House of Representatives has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to obtain a total of $2.347 billion from the international capital market to partly finance the 2025 budget deficit and refinance maturing Eurobonds.
The approval followed the consideration and adoption of a report by the House Committee on Aids, Loans, and Debt Management, chaired by Hon. Abubakar Hassan, during Thursday’s plenary presided over by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
According to the committee’s report, the new borrowing plan includes $1.23 billion to fund the 2025 budget deficit and $1.12 billion to refinance Nigeria’s Eurobond due in November 2025.
By adopting the committee’s recommendations, the House authorised the Federal Government to implement the external borrowing component of the 2025 Appropriation Act, amounting to ₦1.84 trillion (approximately $1.23 billion) at the official budget exchange rate of ₦1,500 to $1.
Lawmakers also approved that the government could access the funds through Eurobond issuance, loan syndication, bridge financing facilities, or direct borrowing from international financial institutions.
President Tinubu, in his earlier correspondence to the National Assembly, explained that the borrowing plan was necessary to bridge the gap between projected revenue and expenditure in the 2025 fiscal year and to enable the government to meet its debt obligations as they mature.