The House of Representatives yesterday approved the request by
President Muhammadu Buhari for $82.54 million to refinance the balance
of $500 million matured Eurobond in the international capital market.
The approval was made after the chairman of the Committee on Aids,
Loans and Debt Management, Adeyinka Ajayi, presented the report of the
committee to the House.
President Buhari had in a letter to the House sought the approval of
the House to raise $2.78 billion from the international capital market
for part-funding of the 2018 budget.
The president said the amount, approved in the 2018 Appropriation Act,
would be used to finance deficits and key infrastructure projects in
the 2018 budget.
The loan, according to him, would be raised from Eurobonds and other
securities in the international capital market.
The president in the same letter, also sought legislative nod for an
external capital sourcing of $82.54 million to refinance the balance
of $500 million matured Eurobonds in the international capital market.
The Senate had in the previous week approved the same amount for the
president and warned him against external borrowing.
Just like the Senate, the House while giving their nod to the
president’s request urged the federal government to reduce or limit
its request for more external borrowings and source for other means of
generating revenue internally.
