The House of Representatives has approved President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s request to raise $2.347 billion from the international capital market to help fund the 2025 budget deficit and refinance a Eurobond maturing in November 2025.
The approval followed the adoption of a report by the House Committee on Aids, Loans, and Debt Management, chaired by Abubakar Hassan Nalaraba, during a plenary session presided over by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
According to the committee’s report, the borrowing plan includes $1.23 billion to partly finance the 2025 budget deficit and $1.12 billion to refinance the maturing Eurobond. The House authorised the Federal Government to implement the external borrowing component of the 2025 Appropriation Act, valued at N1.84 trillion (about $1.23 billion) at the budget exchange rate of N1,500/$.
Lawmakers also approved multiple funding options, including Eurobond issuance, loan syndication, bridge financing, or direct borrowing from international financial institutions. In addition, the House endorsed the President’s proposal to issue Nigeria’s first-ever international Sovereign Sukuk of up to $500 million, with or without a credit guarantee.
Separately, the Reps passed for second reading a bill to amend the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, seeking to empower the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies to seize assets linked to unexplained wealth without a criminal conviction.
The bill, sponsored by Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, proposes a civil forfeiture framework to strengthen asset recovery where lawful sources of wealth cannot be established. Leading the debate, Gagdi said corruption and illicit financial flows remain major governance challenges, noting that sophisticated concealment methods continue to undermine enforcement efforts.
He argued that while the current law provides for criminal prosecution, its high evidential burden often delays asset recovery. The proposed amendment, he said, would enable non-conviction-based proceedings to fast-track the recovery of assets suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
