The Senate on Wednesday approved a loan request of $6.1 billion by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The $6.1 billion was approved following the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts at plenary. Chairman of the committee, Senator Clifford Ordia, presented the report.

President Buhari had in May, asked the National Assembly to consider and approve the loan.

The loan, he said, will be raised from multilateral and bilateral lenders as well as the international capital market.

He also disclosed that the National Assembly already approved the borrowing of N4.6 trillion in the 2021 Appropriation Act and that the new borrowing of N2.3 trillion will part-finance the deficit in the 2021 budget.

In his presentation, Senator Ordia said the request is not new as it had already been approved in the borrowing plan when the National Assembly passed the 2021 Appropriation Bill.

“What we are about to pass is not a new borrowing, it has been approved in the 2021 budget,” he said.