Claim: Senator Dino Melaye, representing Kogi West, claimed that the Nigerian Senate has approved $21 billion in loans for the Federal Government despite increased revenue.

Verdict: True, based on verified public records and official statements.

The Story in Context

A recent $1.75 billion loan request by the Federal Government has reignited public debate over Nigeria’s rising debt profile and the series of loan approvals granted by the Senate under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The development has intensified concerns among citizens already wary of what many describe as a borrowing spree.

According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria’s total public debt currently stands at 149,388,996.79. In April 2025, Economy Post reported that the country’s debt had surged to N56.6 trillion within just 23 months of President Tinubu’s tenure. By May 2025, it was further revealed that the administration had borrowed over  $6.45 billion from the World Bank in just 16 months.

While some Nigerians view borrowing as a necessary tool for national development, others express concern over the government’s ability to manage and repay these loans. Senator Sani Musa defended the borrowing, stating:

“There’s no economy that grows without borrowing. What we are doing is in line with global best practices.”

President Tinubu also justified the borrowing, citing urgent infrastructure needs:

“What is the element of this borrowing? Our roads are terrible. Our internet is not up to the level that we want as a technology-driven nation. We are still indebted to electricity and transmission in the power generation.”

However,  Senator Dino Melaye, representing Kogi West, has been a vocal critic of the administration’s fiscal approach. In an interview on Arise News, he questioned the rationale behind continued borrowing, especially when government revenue targets were reportedly met in the third quarter of the year.

In his remarks, Melaye claimed:

“The Senate has approved $21 billion in loans so far for the President”.

This claim has prompted NDR Fact Check to investigate its accuracy. In a democracy, public accountability depends on the scrutiny of official actions and statements, especially when they concern national debt and governance.

So, how accurate was Mr Melaye’s claim? NDR Fact Check dives into the evidence.

Verification: 

Did the Senate Approve $21 Billion in Loans for the President?

To verify this claim, NDRCheck examined publicly available sources and official statements. The investigation revealed that the $21 billion loan request was indeed debated and approved by the National Assembly, specifically for the Federal Government.

Confirmation of the approval came from Mohammed Manga, the Director of Information and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Finance, through a press statement cited in The Economic Times. The ministry clarified that the loan forms part of a strategic debt plan, describing it as a “forward-looking and systematic approach to external borrowing by all tiers of government—federal, state, and local—over two years.”

Further corroboration of the Senate’s approval was reported by The Punch, africanews.com, and Pulse, affirming the validity of the claim and supporting the position presented by Senator Dino Melaye.

Hence, the claim is correct.

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