In a major move to tackle Nigeria’s growing infrastructure deficit and pension liabilities, the Senate on Tuesday approved President Bola Tinubu’s comprehensive borrowing plan for the 2025-2026 fiscal period.
The plan included a combined external loan package of $21.5 billion, €2.2 billion, and 15 billion Japanese Yen, as well as a €65 million grant.
Additionally, the Senate endorsed a N757.98 billion domestic bond issuance to settle outstanding liabilities under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), some of which date back to December 2023.
The red chamber said the approval was to bring relief to thousands of retirees affected by payment delays.
The Senate maintained that the foreign borrowing plan and domestic bond issuance were key components of the 2025–2026 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), documents that outline Nigeria’s fiscal direction for the coming years.
Chairman of Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Aliyu Wamakko, presented the report that underpinned the approval.
Wamakko confirmed that the proposed external loans were mostly concessional, offered at low interest rates and long repayment terms, designed to support the country’s critical sectors without overly burdening public finances.
