Senate Clears N1.15 Trillion Loan to Fund 2025 Budget Deficit

The Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to raise N1.15 trillion from the domestic debt market to cover the unfunded portion of the 2025 budget deficit.

The approval came following the adoption of a report by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt during Wednesday’s plenary session. The committee highlighted that the 2025 Appropriation Act allows for total expenditure of N59.99 trillion, up N5.25 trillion from the Executive’s initial proposal of N54.74 trillion.

This increase created a total budget deficit of N14.10 trillion. Of this, N12.95 trillion had already been authorised for borrowing, leaving an unfunded gap of approximately N1.15 trillion (N1,147,462,863,321). On November 4, President Tinubu formally requested the additional borrowing to bridge the funding shortfall and ensure full implementation of government programs and projects under the 2025 fiscal plan.

In a related move, the Senate adopted a motion by Senator Abdul Ningi directing the Senate Committee on Appropriations to strengthen oversight and ensure that the borrowed funds are used solely for their intended purposes.