Senate Gives Buhari Nod to Borrow Additional $1.5b, €995m
The federal government in Nigeria has been given the nod to secure additional external loans to the tune of $1.5 billion and €995 million.
The Senate gave its approval for the fresh loan on Wednesday after considering and adopting the report of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts.
Nigerian Sketch learnt that President Muhammadu Buhari had requested the external borrowings in May 2020 to fund federal government projects and support the state governments facing fiscal challenges.
Already, there have been concerns about Nigeria’s rising debts and increasing inflation rate, but the chairman of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Clifford Ordia, said the €995 million would be sourced from the Export-Import Bank of Brazil to finance the federal government’s Green Imperative Project to enhance mechanisation of agriculture and agro process in Nigeria.
He said his committee realized that the indicative terms and conditions under which the loan will be borrowed, have no unusual or onerous conditions attached and the terms do not in any manner compromise the sustainability of the Nigerian economy or impugn the integrity and independence of Nigeria as a sovereign nation.
He noted that while Nigeria’s Total Public Debt Stock is on the increase, it is still relatively low vis-à-vis the country’s GDP, and “the increased borrowing requirements is needed to sustain the economic recovery.”
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