President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve a supplementary external borrowing plan worth $20.52 billion and pound 1.045 billion to finance projects and development programmes in critical sectors of the economy.
The request was conveyed in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday.
Tinubu said the proposed loans would support investments in infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, water supply, security, job creation and financial management reforms.
According to the President, the borrowing plan is intended to stimulate economic growth, address Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit and advance the country’s socio-economic development.
‘The total facility for the projects and programmes under the borrowing rolling plan is 20 billion 517 million US dollars and 1 billion 45 million eighty-three thousand six hundred and forty-three euros respectively,’ the letter stated.
The President said the projects were subjected to technical and economic assessments before their selection, with their expected impact on national development forming a key consideration.
He added that the proposed investments would generate employment, promote skills development, support entrepreneurship, alleviate poverty and strengthen food security.
Tinubu further disclosed that the bulk of the projects and programmes would be executed across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
Defending the need for additional external financing, the President pointed to the substantial resources required to close Nigeria’s infrastructure gap.
‘In light of the need for significant infrastructure investment in the country and the vast financial resources needed to address this gap, it has become essential to pursue prudent external borrowings to close the financing shortfall,’ he said.
He noted that the proposed facilities would largely be channelled towards essential infrastructure, particularly in the power, transportation and healthcare sectors.
Following the presentation of the letter, Akpabio said some components of the borrowing proposal had featured in previous budget considerations, while an external borrowing plan had also been approved by the Senate at an earlier period.
He subsequently referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for examination in conjunction with the committees on Appropriation and Finance.
The committees have been given one week to complete their review and present their findings to the Senate.
Akpabio said the report would inform the Senate’s decision on the President’s request.