By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has written to the National Assembly for approval of a fresh N1.767 trillion, the equivalent of $2.209 billion, as a new external borrowing plan in the 2024 appropriation act.
This development comes days after it was reported that the Nigerian government will be seeking to borrow additional funds this year, with less than six weeks to go.
If approved, the loan will be used to finance the deficit of N9.7 trillion for the 2024 budget.
The President’s request was read by the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr Tajudeen Abbas during plenary on Tuesday.
Mr Tinubu has also forwarded the MTEF/ FSP 2025- 2027 to parliament and the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) establishment amendment bill, to make the social register the primary tool for the implementation of the federal government’s social welfare programmes.
This is expected to balloon the country’s debt profile as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently said the federal government spent $3.58 billion servicing the country’s foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024.
This is a 39.8 per cent increase from the $2.56 billion spent during the same period in 2023.
According to the report, the highest monthly debt servicing payment in 2024 occurred in May, amounting to $854.37 million while the highest monthly expenditure in 2023 was $641.70 million, recorded in July.
The trend in international debt servicing by the CBN highlights the rising cost of debt obligations by Nigeria.
Further breakdown of international debt figures showed that in January 2024, debt servicing costs surged by 398.89 per cent, rising to $560.52 million from $112.35 million in January 2023. February, however, saw a slight decline of 1.84 per cent, with payments reducing from $288.54m in 2023 to $283.22m in 2024.
March recorded a 31.04 per cent drop in payments, falling to $276.17 million from $400.47 m in the same period last year. April saw a significant rise of 131.77 per cent, with $215.20 million paid in 2024 compared to $92.85 million in 2023.
The highest debt servicing payment occurred in May 2024, when $854.37m was spent, reflecting a 286.5 per cent increase compared to $221.05 million in May 2023. June, on the other hand, saw a 6.51 per cent decline, with $50.82 million paid in 2024, down from $54.36 million in 2023.
July 2024 recorded a 15.48 per cent reduction, with payments dropping to $542.50m from $641.70m in July 2023. In August, there was another decline of 9.69 per cent, as $279.95 million was paid compared to $309.96 million in 2023. However, September 2024 saw a 17.49 per cent increase, with payments rising to $515.81 million from $439.06 million in the same month last year.