Bismarck Rewane, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, says Nigerians have no reason to worry over President Bola Tinubu’s fresh ₦1.15 trillion domestic loan request to fund the 2025 budget deficit.
Gatekeepers News reports that speaking on Channels Television’s Business Morning programme on Thursday, Rewane explained that the president’s request for approval from the National Assembly is not for new borrowing but merely to formalise provisions already captured in the 2025 budget.
“I think the approvals that are being requested now are just to ratify what is there; these are not additional debts, to be honest with you,” Rewane said. “It is just a ratification of the financing of the budget because before you go into the budget for 2026, which will be announced any moment from now, you need to up all the outstanding items. So, the ₦1.15 trillion for domestic borrowing is just for the ratification of what has been there.”
He noted that the 2025 budget, estimated at about ₦54 trillion, includes a deficit of roughly ₦13 to ₦14 trillion, which the government plans to finance through bonds and other debt instruments.
Rewane added that Nigeria’s improved revenue outlook, following the removal of fuel subsidies, ensures the government’s ability to service its debt obligations.
“Because our revenue has increased — because subsidies have been virtually eliminated — you find that the revenue available to pay up this debt when it is required is not in doubt,” he said. “So, it is not any reason to panic at all.”
President Tinubu had, on Tuesday, asked the National Assembly to approve the ₦1.15 trillion borrowing from the domestic debt market to help cover the 2025 budget deficit.
In a letter read on the Senate floor during plenary, Tinubu explained that the loan would bridge the funding gap and ensure full implementation of government programmes and projects under the 2025 fiscal plan.
The Senate President subsequently referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt, which is expected to report back within one week for further legislative action.
