According to report reaching oyogist.com, Nigerian Senate approved a plan by President Muhammadu Buhari to borrow $2.7 billion from external sources to fund critical projects across Africa’s largest economy.
The upper legislative chamber ratified the combination of $1.5 billion and 995 million euros in loans after considering the report of its committee on local and foreign debts, according to parliamentary proceedings on Wednesday.
A bigger proportion of the money would be disbursed to the country’s 36 states and remainder to finance priority projects, Clifford Ordia, chairman of the approving committee said. The loans will be sourced from the World Bank, Export-Import Bank of Brazil and Deutsche Bank of Germany, according to the lawmakers.
Recall that President Buhari last year asked lawmakers for permission to obtain $5.5 billion in external funding to help finance budget deficits. Africa’s biggest crude producer is struggling to meet spending commitments after oil prices slumped last year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
