House of Reps approves President Buhari’s $22.7bn loan request

The House of Representatives has approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s request of taking $22.7 billion in foreign loans.

The request was approved by the lawmakers after consideration of a report by the house committee on aids, loans and debt management on Tuesday June 2. Recall that some lawmakers especially those of the south-east caucus, had kicked against the loan request following the federal government’s failure to include projects in the region among those to be financed from the loan.

President Buhari had said that the loan which some lawmakers previously kicked against, will be used to fund infrastructural development across the country. The Senate approved the loan request in March 2020.

As at September 30, 2019, Nigeria had a debt profile of ?26.2 trillion. While the total domestic debts is about ?18 trillion or 68.45 per cent, the West African country owes foreign lenders ?8 trillion.