President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday forwarded a request to the Senate requesting approval to borrow the sum of $ 6, 183, 081, 643, 40 (N2, 343, 942, 848. 00) as new external borrowing to finance the 2021 budget.
The request read on the floor of the Upper Chamber by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, aims to part-finance Aa deficit of N5.602 million in the 2021 Appropriation Act.
The new loan according to Mr Buhari would enable government to ensure “employment generation and poverty reduction, as well as protection the most vulnerable and very poor segments of the Nigerian Society.”
The loan is also meant to finance Donor funded and Capital projects under the 2018 – 2020 Federal Government External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan, such as, Power, Transportation, Agriculture and Rural Development, Education and Health.
Others are, Provision of Counterpart Funding for Multilateral and Bilateral projects, Defence and Water Resources.
He added that the funded projects and programmes are based on “positive, technical and economic evaluations as well as contribution they would make to the socio-economic development of the country.”
Insisting that his request is in line with the Debt Management Strategy which seeks to moderate the development of the country, President Buhari disclosed that the loan would cover both federal and state governments’ projects geared towards the realization of the country’s Economic Sustainability Plan.
The loan is to be sourced from international financial institutions such as the World Bank, African Development Bank, French Development Bank, China EXIMBank.
Others are Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
The letter reads: “It is with pleasure that I forward the list of all the Donor funded projects under the 2018-2020 Federal Government External Borrowing (RoIIing) Plan for the consideration and concurrent approval of the Senate for same to become effective.
“The Projects listed under the 2018-2020 External Borrowing Plan are to be financed through sovereign loans from the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), French Development Agency (AFD), Islamic Development Bank, China EXIMBank, China Development Bank, European Investment Bank, European ECA, KfW, lPEX, AFC, India EximBank and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) at a total sum of USD 36,837,281,256 plus Euro 910,000,000 and Grant Component of USD 10,000,000.
“Distinguished Senate President may wish to know that the projects and programmes in the Borrowing Plan were selected based on positive, technical and economic evaluations as well as the contribution they would make to the socio economic development of the country including employment generation and poverty reduction as well as protection of the most vulnerable and very poor segments of the Nigerian society.
“Distinguished Senate President may also wish to know that all the listed projects form part of the 2018-2020 External Borrowing Plan covered both the Federal and States Governments’ Projects and are geared towards the realization of the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan that cut across key sectors such as Infrastructure, Health, Agriculture and Food Security, Energy, Education and Human Capital Development and COVID 19 Response efforts.
“A summary of some key projects in each of the six geo political zones and a summary on the expected impacts on the socio-economic development of each of the six (6) geo-political zones.
“Given the importance attached, to the timely delivery of the projects listed in the proposed Borrowing Plan and the benefits both the Federal and States Governments stand to gain from the implementation of same, I hereby wish to request for the kind consideration and concurrent approval of the Senate for the 2018-2020 Federal Government External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan to enable the projects become effective.”
