President Bola Tinubu’s request to collect N1.15 trillion from the domestic debt market to pay for the unfunded portion of the 2025 budget deficit has been approved by the Senate.
The Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt adopted a report during plenary on Wednesday, which was followed by the approval.
The committee observed that the 2025 Appropriations Act calls for a total spending of N59.99 trillion, which is N5.25 trillion more than the Executive’s original proposal of N54.74 trillion.
A total budget deficit of N14.10 trillion resulted from this expansion, of which N12.95 trillion had already been authorized for borrowing, leaving an unpaid debt of almost N1.15 trillion (N1,147,462,863,321).
Tinubu publicly asked for the new N1.15 trillion loan on November 4.
According to him, it would ensure that government programs and projects under the 2025 fiscal plan are fully implemented and close the funding deficit.
In a related development, Senator Abdul Ningi’s resolution was approved, instructing the Senate Committee on Appropriations to increase oversight in order to guarantee that the borrowed monies are appropriately implemented and rigorously used for their intended purposes.
