The Senate has granted approval for President Bola Tinubu’s loan request totaling $500 million in support of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) for the electricity metering program. This initiative aims to enhance the financial and technical performance of electricity distribution companies (DisCos) under the World Bank-funded Nigeria Distribution Sector Recovery Program (DISREP).
The approval came following the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts on the 2022 – 2024 External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan for the BPE. Senator Haruna Manu, Vice Chairman of the committee, presented the report during the session.
In his statement, Senator Manu outlined the approval of the sum of $500 million for the BPE, part of the larger $7.94 billion loan requested by President Tinubu on November 1, 2023, under the 2022-2024 external borrowing plan. Additionally, the President sought approval for €100 million. However, the Senate had previously approved the borrowing of $7.4 billion during its special plenary session on December 30, after considering the report of the Committee on local and foreign debt.
Senator Manu emphasized that the terms and conditions of the loan would not compromise Nigeria’s economic growth sustainability. The loan is expected to bolster the implementation of the electricity metering program, which is crucial for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the country’s electricity distribution network.
