House of Representatives has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to borrow $2.35 billion to finance part of the 2025 budget deficit.
The green chamber also endorsed the President’s proposal to issue a $500 million debut sovereign sukuk in the international capital market to support key infrastructure projects and diversify Nigeria’s financing sources.
The approvals followed the consideration and adoption of the report of the House Committee on Aids, Loans, and Debt Management, which reviewed the borrowing plan and recommended its implementation.
According to the report, the new external borrowing of ₦1.84 trillion (equivalent to $1.229 billion) at the budget exchange rate of ₦1,500 to $1, as provided in the 2025 Appropriation Act, will be used to part-finance the ₦9.28 trillion budget deficit.
Earlier this month, President Tinubu had written to the House seeking approval to raise $2.3 billion in external capital through a combination of Eurobonds, bridge financing, loan syndications, and direct borrowing from international financial institutions.
“The Federal Government has recorded considerable success in the issuance of Sukuk in the domestic capital market for the development of critical infrastructural projects across the country,” Tinubu stated in the letter read by Speaker Hon. Abbas Tajudeen.
In July, the Senate approved the 2025–2026 external borrowing plan of $21.5 billion presented by the President, including a ₦757 billion Federal Government Bond for the payment of accrued pension rights under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
Nigeria’s total public debt rose to ₦149.39 trillion as of March 31, 2025, marking a year-on-year increase of ₦27.72 trillion or 22.8 per cent compared to ₦121.67 trillion recorded in the same period of 2024.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government is in talks with China’s Export-Import Bank for a $2 billion loan to finance a new “super grid” aimed at addressing power shortages and boosting industrial growth.
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has also raised ₦1.39 trillion through Sukuk bonds in the domestic capital market, which have been deployed for the construction and rehabilitation of major roads and bridges nationwide.
