Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, submitted a fresh loan request to the Senate on Wednesday, seeking approval to borrow an additional $7.8 billion and €100 million as part of his 2022–2024 borrowing plan.

Nigeria’s foreign debt as of June 2023 was put at $43.2 billion, while domestic debt is put at N54.1 trillion, bringing public debt to N113.4 trillion. But it is expected to rise further to about $51 billion following the presidential request for new borrowing, coupled with the depreciation of the naira.

In a letter sent to the Senate yesterday, Tinubu claimed the request was based on the previous approval of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, following a meeting of the Federal Executive Council in May 2023.

“The Senate may wish to note that the past administration approved the 2022–2024 borrowing plan at the Federal Executive Council which was held on the 15th day of May 2023.

“The projects cut across all sectors with specific emphasis on infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, security and employment as well as financial management reforms, among others”, Tinubu’s letter reads.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, stated that the bank had committed more than $11 billion in the past three years to Nigeria’s government at both the federal and the sub-national levels.

During his opening remarks at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja, Chaudhuri expressed his goodwill to ministers, presidential aides, permanent secretaries, and other high-ranking government employees, as part of a three-day cabinet retreat. The bank would assist President Tinubu in his administration’s difficult mission of rescuing millions of Nigerians from poverty and improving everyone’s quality of life, he further promised.

“Although we are at the World Bank, we’re a development organisation and over the last three and a half, four years that I’ve been here, our board has committed over $11 billion in financing for the government, and our financing is meant to go to governments at both the federal and at the sub-national levels. So we’re here to support your programmes, and we take guidance from you”, he said.

The level of indebtedness in African countries is at its highest in more than a decade, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and skyrocketing inflation. African nations were forced to incur even more debt, and as a result, 21 low-income African nations are currently either insolvent or at great risk of experiencing debt hardship.