The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday granted approval to President Muhammadu Buhari to borrow a fresh loan of N850 billion to finance the 2020 budget.
Buhari had approached the Senate seeking approval for the loan in line with provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
The President’s request was contained in a letter read on the floor of the Senate by the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan.
Buhari in his request said the fresh loan will be sourced from the Nigerian Domestic Capital Market to help fund critical capital projects.
The Coronavirus pandemic has adversely affected the 2020 budget; necessitating a few adjustments to reflect current harsh global economic activities.
Buhari said in the light of the global economy, it was prudent to source the new loan from the domestic market at this time; pointing out that the conditions were quite favourable.
The Senate considered Buhari’s request and unanimously granted approval.
The upper legislative chamber however mandated its relevant committees to liaise with the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed on the modalities for the loan.
This was as the Senate called on the executive to quickly come forward with the revised Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, as well as the 2020 budget for review and passage.
The upper legislative chamber however called on the executive to begin to aggressively pursue diversification and change the current structure of the Nigerian economy to cover critical areas like agriculture, health, education and infrastructure.