Senate increases FG’s borrowing limit from CBN to 15%

The Senate has amended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) act — increasing the “ways and means borrowing” threshold for the federal government.

During an emergency session held on Saturday, the senate raised the limit from a 5 percent threshold to a maximum of 15 percent that the government can get from the CBN.

Ways and means is a loan facility through which the CBN finances the government’s budget shortfalls.

The facility allows the government to borrow from the apex bank if it needs short-term or emergency finance to fund important projects.

According to Ibrahim Gobir, senate leader, the amendment was necessary to “enable the federal government to meet its immediate and future obligation in the approval of the ways and means by the national assembly and advances by the CBN”.

“Mr President, my respected colleagues, permit me to lead the debate on this bill which seeks to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) act to increase the total CBN advances to the federal government from 5 percent to a maximum of 15 percent,” Gobir said.

“The bill was read for the first time in this chamber on Wednesday, 24th May, -2023.

“The very essence of this bill my respected colleagues is to enable the federal government to meet its immediate and future obligation in the approval of the ways and means by the National Assembly and advances to the federal government by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“This amendment is very consequential and it needs the support of us all. This is to enable the federal government to embark on very important projects that will inflate and rejig the economy.

“I, therefore, urge you all to support the passage of this bill.”

Section 38 of the CBN act, 2007, stipulates that the total amount of ways and means advances outstanding shall not at any time exceed 5 percent of the previous year’s actual revenue of the federal government.

But the federal government’s borrowings from the apex bank have repeatedly exceeded the 5 percent threshold.

“All advances shall be repaid as soon as possible and shall, in any event, be repayable by the end of the federal government financial year in which they are granted and if such advances remain unpaid at the end of the year, the power of the bank to grant such further advances in any subsequent year shall not be exercisable, unless the outstanding advances have been repaid,” the act reads in part.