Senate approves $8.4bn, €490m borrowing plan

The Senate on Thursday approved the Federal Government’s 2018-2020 external borrowing rolling plan of $8.3 billion and 490 million euros.

The fund was approved after the Senate considered the report of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts.

The Chairman of the committee, Clifford Ordia, presented the report.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that President Muhammadu Buhari wrote to the National Assembly in May seeking the approval of the plan.

According to the President, the loan will be sourced from multilateral and bilateral institutions and the issuance of Eurobonds in the international capital market.

Donor funded projects under the plan, according to the President, will be financed through sovereign loans from the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), Islamic Development Bank, French Development Agency, and the China EXIM Bank.

Others include the China Development Bank, European Investment Bank, European ECA, KfW, IPEX, AFC, India EXIM Bank, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

In his letter, President Buhari had also noted that the projects and programmes to be funded by the plan were based on the technical and economic evaluation that will promote employment generation, social protection, and poverty reduction.