The $2.2bn loan request of President Bola Tinubu will be approved by the Senate today (Wednesday).
This request, made by the President, is part of the external borrowing strategy established for implementing the N28.7 trillion 2024 budget.
Tinubu said in separate letters read in Senate and House plenaries on Tuesday that the loan will cover a portion of the N9.7 trillion budget shortfall for the fiscal year 2024.
After reading the letter, Senate President Godswill Akpabio directed the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts to investigate the request and respond within 24 hours.
Akpabio stated, “The Presidential request for $2.2bn, equivalent to N1.77tn, is already enshrined in the external borrowing plan for the 2024 fiscal year.
“The Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Loans should therefore give the request expeditious consideration and report back within 24 hours.”
Tinubu also presented the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for 2025-2027 to both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Akpabio asked the Senate Committee on Finance, National Planning, and Economic Affairs to review the MTEF/FSP documents and report within one week.
The MTEF/FSP’s key factors include a $75 oil price benchmark per barrel, daily oil output of 2.06 million barrels, an exchange rate of N1,400 to $1, and a target GDP growth rate of 6.4%.
These data will be used to assess and approve the proposed N47.9 trillion budget for 2025.
In a related development, Tinubu submitted the Social Investment Programme Amendment Bill to the National Assembly.
The proposed change seeks to strengthen the framework for administering social assistance programs, thereby improving transparency and efficiency.
According to Tinubu, the amendment aspires to make the National Investment Register the principal mechanism for identifying beneficiaries of social investment programs.
This approach, he continued, will ensure that welfare programs are data-driven and effectively provide social protection to Nigeria’s most vulnerable inhabitants.
Tinubu added, “The amendment will make our social and welfare programs more transparent, efficient, and impactful in addressing the needs of vulnerable Nigerians.”
