The National Assembly has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request for a N1.15 trillion loan in the domestic debt market to fund the 2025 budget deficit.
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The approval at the Senate and the House of Representatives gave its approval during their separate plenary sessions yesterday.
On November 4, Tinubu asked the parliament to authorise the borrowing, explaining that the shortfall in domestic financing arose from an expansion of the budget beyond the initially approved revenue and borrowing projections.
The approval at the Senate followed the adoption of the report of its Committee on Local and Foreign Debts. Presenting the report on behalf of the Committee Chairman, Wamakko Magatarkada, Deputy Chairman, Haruna Manu, explained that the borrowing was necessary to close the gap created by the increase in the total budget size during the legislative approval process.
Explaining the rationale for the loan, the committee explained that “a budget of N59.99 trillion was passed in the 2025 Appropriation Act, with an increase of N5.25 trillion from the N54.74 trillion budget earlier proposed by the Executive.
“This increase created a budget deficit of N14.10 trillion. The proposed borrowing approval in the budget was N12.95 trillion, which occasioned an unfunded deficit of N1.147 trillion. It is therefore necessary to increase the domestic borrowing limit in the 2025 budget by N1.147 trillion to close the gap.”
The committee stressed that the borrowing would be sourced entirely from the domestic market.
It further urged that “the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Debt Management Office to undertake the borrowing strictly within approved fiscal parameters, ensuring that all terms and conditions are favourable, transparent, and sustainable.”
To strengthen legislative oversight, the committee mandated that the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts to monitor the implementation and utilisation of proceeds from the borrowing, receive quarterly reports from the Ministry of Finance and Debt Management Office, track compliance with debt sustainability thresholds and report any deviations to the Senate for appropriate legislative action.
Supporting the recommendations, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, disclosed that the loan “will ensure that the implementation of the 2025 Appropriation Act, especially capital projects, proceeds without delay,” he said.
Abdul Ningi supported the recommendation but called for stronger coordination among key fiscal agencies.
“This borrowing was approved because it is meant to service the 2025 Appropriation Act, which is commendable. However, given the urgency, I suggest that the Appropriation Committee should liaise with both the Debt Management Office and the Budget Office to ensure proper appropriation and compliance.”
The Senate thereafter adopted an additional recommendation mandating the Appropriation Committee “to ensure that the borrowing is actually used for the purpose for which it is required, which is to fund the 2025 Appropriation.”
Following the motion’s approval, other recommendations were unanimously adopted.
In his closing remarks, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session, assured that “with this approval, the Senate has ensured that funding gaps in the 2025 budget will not hinder the implementation of key projects, while maintaining strict oversight on debt sustainability and fiscal responsibility.”
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