President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has requested Senate approval to secure a ₦1.15 trillion loan from the domestic market to finance the growing deficit in Nigeria’s ₦54.99 trillion 2025 budget. The request was contained in a formal letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during Tuesday’s plenary session in Abuja.
Tinubu explained that the additional borrowing has become necessary to bridge the unfunded gap created after the National Assembly increased the budget size beyond the initial proposal submitted by the executive. According to him, while the legislature raised the total budget by ₦5.25 trillion, the approved borrowing plan only covered ₦12.95 trillion—leaving a shortfall of about ₦1.15 trillion.
In his letter, the President noted that the new request aligns with the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007, which mandates National Assembly approval for all government borrowings. He emphasized that the funds would be raised within the domestic debt market to maintain fiscal stability and ensure timely implementation of key government projects in the 2025 fiscal year.
“The approved budget increase resulted in a total deficit of ₦14 trillion, while the authorized borrowing covered ₦12.95 trillion,” Tinubu wrote. “It is, therefore, necessary to expand the domestic borrowing limit by ₦1.147 trillion to close this funding gap.” The President added that a specimen of the approval form was attached to his correspondence for the Senate’s consideration.
Following the reading of the letter, Senate President Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt, chaired by Senator Aliyu Wammako (APC, Sokoto North), for further deliberation. The development comes barely a week after the National Assembly approved another presidential borrowing of $2.3 billion from external sources.
source: tribune