By Mary Onyia
Nigeria’s foreign debt soars as President Bola Tinubu writes the National Assembly seeking approval for a fresh $2.209 billion ( N1.767 trillion) external loan plan to finance the 2024 budget deficit of N9.7 trillion.
The President’s letter requesting the loan was addressed to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of, the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, during plenary.
President Tinubu indicated that the requisition was in line with the provisions of Sections 21(1) and 27(1) of the Debt Management Office (DMO) Establishment Act, 2003.
Reports say the Federal Executive Council, FEC, has approved the loan.
In light of this, Nigerians are worried about the government’s ever-increasing foreign debt portfolio, even as the cost of debt servicing continues to rise.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, revealed recently that the Federal government spent $3.58 billion servicing the country’s foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024 up from $2.56 billion spent during the same period in 2023, with the highest debt servicing payment of $854.37 million occurring in May 2024.