Loveth Okoli
President Muhammadu Buhari has sought the approval of Senate for a new external loan of $6.183 billion to fund the deficit of N5.602 trillion in 2021 Appropriation Act.
Buhari’s request is contained in a letter addressed to the President of Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan and read at plenary on Tuesday.
Buhari said the request was in line with the provision of Sections 21(1) and 27(1) of the Debt Management Office (DMO) Establishment Act 2003.
He said the loan would be sourced from a combination of multilateral and bilateral lenders and International Capital Market (ICM) through issuance of Euro bonds.
He noted that it was now possible for Nigeria to raise fund in the ICM, hence the proposal for the borrowing plan.
He said accessing the ICM would be relatively cheaper, thereby moderating debt services cost and contribute to the level of external reserve.
Account to him, the government estimates to raise N3 billion dollars but not more than $6.183 billion, being the amount presented in the 2021 appropriation act.
He said the loan would be a combination tenors of between 5 and 30 years.
