In a move to support President Bola Tinubu’s fiscal strategy for the 2024 fiscal year, the Nigerian Senate has given the green light to his $2.2 billion loan request.
This approval came after the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Aliyu Wamakko, presented a report during Thursday’s plenary session.
The loan, equivalent to ₦1.77 trillion, aims to partially finance the ₦9.7 trillion budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year. President Tinubu emphasized the loan’s importance in his administration’s fiscal strategy in a letter read during the Senate and House of Representatives plenaries on Tuesday.
“The Presidential request for $2.2 billion, equivalent to ₦1.77 trillion, is already enshrined in the external borrowing plan for the 2024 fiscal year,” Senate President Godswill Akpabio stated while reading the letter. Akpabio directed the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts to expedite its review of the request and present a report within 24 hours.
Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau commended the committee for its swift action and thorough examination of the loan request. “The Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Loans should, therefore, give the request expeditious consideration and report back within 24 hours,” Akpabio emphasized.
The committee’s report was met with little deliberation, and Barau promptly called for a voice vote. The Senate responded with a resounding “Aye” in favor of the request.
