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| President Tinubu |
President Bola Tinubu has officially sought the House of Representatives' approval for external loans amounting to $8,699,168,559 and £100 million euros. The request, outlined in a letter titled "Request for Approval for the Federal Government 2022-2024 External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan," was presented during Tuesday's plenary by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas. The President emphasized the necessity of resorting to prudent external borrowing amid diminishing financial resources, with a focus on utilizing the funds for crucial infrastructure projects such as power, railway, and health.
In response to the economic impact of removing the fuel subsidy, the African Development Bank and the World Bank Group have expressed interest in assisting Nigeria with $1 billion and $1.5 billion USD, respectively. This support is in addition to the Federal Executive Council's (FEC) approved 2022-2024 external borrowing plan. The President highlighted that the projects in the borrowing plan cover diverse sectors, emphasizing infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, security, employment generation, and financial management.
President Tinubu underscored the positive technical and economic evaluations guiding the selection of projects, emphasizing their expected contributions to socio-economic development, including employment generation, skills acquisition, entrepreneurship support, poverty reduction, and food security across all states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Given the substantial infrastructure deficit and the need for significant financial resources, the President urged the House of Representatives to promptly consider and approve the 2022-2024 external abridged borrowing rolling plan. This, he argued, is essential for expeditious disbursement and efficient project implementation, aiming to address the country's infrastructure challenges.
Additionally, the President submitted a request for supplementary statutory appropriation in the 2023 Statutory Appropriation Act of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). The letter explained that the current approach may not suffice to meet the administration's agenda for infrastructural projects in the FCT, leading to the proposal for supplementary appropriation in the 2023 statutory appropriation act.
Furthermore, the House passed a Bill for an Act authorizing the issuance of funds from the Federal Capital Territory Administration's Statutory Revenue Fund for the Financial Year ending on 31 December 2023. The allocated sum of N61,553,778,259.93 includes N12,900,000,000.00 for Overhead Costs and N48,653,778,260.00 for Capital Expenditure costs for the service of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
In a separate communication, President Tinubu informed the House that he would present the 2024 appropriation bill on Wednesday at 11 am.
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