Senate has approved the sums of $1.5 billion and €995 million external loans for the federal and state governments.
The red chambers gave the approval on Tuesday after considering the report of its Committee on Local and Foreign Debts on the external borrowing plan of Federal Government.
Chairman of the committee, Clifford Ordia, told the lawmakers that the panel had considered the loan request and was recommending its approval.
The €995m loan is meant for agricultural mechanisation across 774 LGAs while $1.5 billion loans will be used to fund critical infrastructure in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic across 36 states and the federal capital territory.
The loan is to be facilitated by International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, African Development Bank Group (AFDB), and Export/Import Bank of Brazil.
President Muhammadu Buhari last May, in a letter addressed to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, sought the approval of the lawmakers to borrow about $5.513 billion from external sources.
It was gathered that President Buhari in the letter said the external loan was to enable his administration to fund the 2020 revised budget, execute Federal Government’s priority projects and for projects to support state governments in stimulating their economy which has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
