Amid complaints over unresolved economic challenges, President Bola Tinubu has written to the National Assembly, requesting approval for an additional N1.767 trillion external borrowing plan to complete the 2024 appropriation act.
If approved by the lawmakers, the loan requested by the president will be used to part-finance the budget deficit of N9.7tn for the 2024 budget.
Aside from that, the president presented before the lawmakers the MTEF/ FSP 2025- 2027 as well as the National Social Investment Programme establishment amendment bill,
The bill, according to the president, is designed to make the social register the primary tool for the federal government’s social welfare programmes implementation.
The speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass, read the president’s request to other lawmakers during plenary on Tuesday.
The request came after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed that the apex government $3.58 billion servicing the country’s foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024, putting pressure on the budget.
The apex bank stated international payment statistics showed that the amount represents a 39.77 percent increase from the $2.56bn spent during the same period in 2023.
Further breakdown of international debt figures showed that in January 2024, debt servicing costs surged by 398.89 per cent, rising to $560.52m from $112.35m in January 2023. February, however, saw a slight decline of 1.84 per cent, with payments reducing from $288.54m in 2023 to $283.22m in 2024.
March recorded a 31.04 per cent drop in payments, falling to $276.17m from $400.47m in the same period last year. April saw a significant rise of 131.77 per cent, with $215.20m paid in 2024 compared to $92.85m in 2023.
The highest debt servicing payment occurred in May 2024, when $854.37m was spent, reflecting a 286.52 per cent increase compared to $221.05m in May 2023. June, on the other hand, saw a 6.51 per cent decline, with $50.82m paid in 2024, down from $54.36m in 2023.
July 2024 recorded a 15.48 per cent reduction, with payments dropping to $542.50m from $641.70m in July 2023. In August, there was another decline of 9.69 per cent, as $279.95m was paid compared to $309.96m in 2023. However, September 2024 saw a 17.49 per cent increase, with payments rising to $515.81m from $439.06m in the same month last year.
Given rising exchange rates, the data raises concerns about the growing pressure of Nigeria’s foreign debt obligations.
