Senate Clears $6bn Loans For Budget Deficit

The Senate has granted approval for President Bola Tinubu to secure $6 billion in external loans, clearing the way for fresh borrowing to address fiscal gaps and fund rehabilitation work at Nigeria’s busiest seaports.

The approval followed the consideration of a report by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, chaired by Senator Aliyu Wamakko (APC, Sokoto North), which reviewed the President’s formal requests submitted earlier in the week.

In a letter read during plenary, President Tinubu sought legislative backing for a $5 billion facility from Abu Dhabi Bank, intended to support budget deficit financing and meet existing debt service obligations. A separate communication requested approval for a $1 billion loan from UK Export Finance through Citibank London, earmarked for the rehabilitation of critical port infrastructure at the Lagos Port Complex and Tin Can Island Port.

The President noted that the port projects are designed to address longstanding operational deficiencies, improve efficiency, enhance safety standards, support non-oil trade diversification, and position Nigeria as a regional trade hub.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio referred both requests to the committee with a directive for expeditious consideration, culminating in Tuesday’s adoption of the panel’s report.

The approval comes amid sustained reliance on a mix of domestic and external borrowing to finance budget deficits. In November 2025, the National Assembly authorised the Federal Government to raise N1.15 trillion from the domestic debt market to fund the 2025 budget deficit, completing the government’s financing plan for that fiscal year.

In its report, the Senate committee referenced provisions of the 2025 Appropriation Act, which set total expenditure at N59.99 trillion—an increase of N5.25 trillion from the initial N54.74 trillion proposed by the Executive—underscoring the widening fiscal gap that necessitated the latest borrowing request.