The Senate on Tuesday approved President Bola Tinubu’s request for $6 billion in fresh external borrowing, a move to shore up budget shortfalls and fund infrastructure upgrades amid persistent fiscal strains.
The approval, delivered hours after President Tinubu’s formal letter reached Senate President Godswill Akpabio, covers two facilities: $5 billion from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to finance the 2025 budget deficit and service existing debts, and $1 billion from UK Export Finance via Citibank in London for rehabilitating the Lagos Port Complex and Tin Can Island Port.
Senator Aliyu Wamakko (APC-Sokoto North), chairman of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, presented the panel’s report during plenary, paving the way for swift passage.
Senate President Akpabio had referred the requests to the committee earlier Tuesday with instructions to report back promptly.
The port projects target chronic inefficiencies, safety lapses, and bottlenecks that have hampered Nigeria’s maritime trade, aiming to boost non-oil exports and cement the country’s role as a West African trade hub.
This borrowing spree builds on recent debt approvals.
In November, lawmakers cleared N1.15 trillion ($670 million at current rates) in domestic issuance to close the 2025 budget gap.
The year’s N59.99 trillion appropriation—up N5.25 trillion from the executive’s initial proposal—indicates Nigeria’s deepening reliance on loans to fund capital spending as oil revenues falter and deficits widen.
