The Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request for a ₦1.77 trillion ($2.2 billion) external loan to help finance Nigeria’s 2024 budget deficit. The approval, granted via a voice vote, followed the presentation of a report by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, chaired by Senator Wammako Magatarkada (APC, Sokoto North).

Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin presided over the session, which endorsed the fresh borrowing plan as part of the ₦9.7 trillion deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act.

The loan, submitted for consideration earlier this week, adds to Nigeria’s growing debt obligations. Recent data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that the federal government spent $3.58 billion on foreign debt servicing in the first nine months of 2024, a 39.77% increase from the $2.56 billion spent in the same period in 2023.

The CBN report on international payments highlights the growing burden of debt servicing. In May 2024 alone, the federal government spent $854.37 million on foreign debt servicing, marking a significant increase of 286.52% compared to $221.05 million in May 2023.

January 2024 recorded a 398.89% surge in debt servicing costs, rising to $560.52 million from $112.35 million in January 2023. While there was a slight decrease in February 2024, with payments dropping to $283.22 million, subsequent months showed fluctuations, including a 131.77% increase in April and a 15.48% reduction in July.