Economist and Financial Derivatives Company boss Bismarck Rewane has urged Nigerians not to view President Bola Tinubu’s ₦1.15 trillion domestic borrowing request as a fresh financial shock, saying the move is essentially tied to financing already embedded in the 2025 budget framework. He made the point during an appearance on Channels Television’s Business Morning on November 6, 2025.
Rewane’s central argument was that the request before the National Assembly is more of a formal ratification step than the introduction of an entirely new debt burden. In his explanation, the government is seeking approval for instruments needed to complete funding arrangements already anticipated within the budget cycle.
That clarification is important because public reaction to borrowing figures is often shaped by headline size alone. In this case, Rewane argued that the number should be viewed against the broader scale of the 2025 fiscal plan, which had originally been presented at about ₦54.74 trillion but was later passed by lawmakers at ₦59.99 trillion, widening the financing gap.
Gossip News Now reports that Rewane also linked his reassurance to improved government revenue after the removal of fuel subsidies, saying stronger inflows should make debt servicing more manageable. His position was that the ability to repay is less worrying now than it might have been under the previous revenue structure. (Channels Television)
Seen in fiscal terms, the request is meant to close the shortfall created after the National Assembly expanded the budget beyond earlier approved revenue and borrowing plans. Reuters reported that the executive’s proposed deficit stood at ₦12.95 trillion, while the final approved budget left a deficit of about ₦14.10 trillion, creating the gap the new borrowing would address.
President Tinubu formally asked the National Assembly to authorize the ₦1.15 trillion domestic borrowing programme in a letter read during plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on November 4, 2025. The request stated that the funds were needed to bridge the unfunded deficit and support the implementation of programmes and capital projects under the 2025 fiscal plan.
The proposal then moved through the legislative process and was referred to the relevant debt committee for review before later receiving approval from the National Assembly on November 12, 2025. Reports said both chambers backed the request after considering the financing gap created by the enlarged budget.
Commentary and Analysis
Rewane’s reassurance appears aimed at separating political anxiety from budget mechanics. Borrowing figures can sound alarming in isolation, but his explanation suggests this was less about sudden extra spending and more about regularising how an already expanded budget would be funded.
At the same time, public caution is understandable. Even if the request fits within the budget process, it still adds to the conversation about Nigeria’s debt management, fiscal discipline, and the long-term cost of plugging budget deficits through borrowing. That means the concern may not be about procedure alone, but about how often such gaps emerge and how sustainably they are financed. This is an inference based on the reported budget expansion and borrowing gap. (Reuters)
What Rewane seems to be saying, however, is that context matters. If revenue has indeed improved and the borrowing is being used to close a defined gap within an approved budget, then the request becomes easier to interpret as part of fiscal administration rather than a sign of uncontrolled financial distress.
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