Lekan Sowande, Abuja
The Nigerian Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to raise N1.15 trillion from the domestic debt market to cover the unfunded portion of the 2025 budget deficit.
The approval followed the adoption of a report by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt during plenary on Wednesday.
The report, which was presented on behalf of the committee by its Vice Chairman, Senator Haruna Manu (PDP, Taraba Central), sought the chamber’s endorsement of the proposed borrowing to bridge the funding gap in the 2025 fiscal year.
Presenting the report, Senator Manu said, “The Senate does receive and consider the Report of the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for the approval of the Borrowing Programme to Fund the 2025 Budget Deficit”.
The committee said the 2025 Appropriation Act provides for a total expenditure of N59.99 trillion, an increase of N5.25 trillion over the initial N54.74 trillion proposed by the Executive.
This expansion created a total budget deficit of N14.10 trillion, of which N12.95 trillion had already been approved for borrowing, leaving an unfunded deficit of approximately N1.15 trillion (N1,147,462,863,321).
On November 4, President Tinubu, who formally requested the fresh N1.15 trillion borrowing, stated that it would bridge the funding gap and ensure full implementation of government programs and projects under the 2025 fiscal plan.
“The proposed borrowing is intended to bridge the funding gap and ensure full implementation of government programmes and projects under the 2025 fiscal plan,” the President wrote in the letter.
During the session, a motion by Senator Abdul Ningi directed the Senate Committee on Appropriations to intensify oversight to ensure that the borrowed funds are properly implemented and used strictly for their intended purposes was adopted.