Nigeria has successfully drawn roughly $1.5 billion from the initial tranche of its massive $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).
Bloomberg reported on Friday that the federal government secured the capital within the last two weeks through a highly structured Total Return Swap ($TRS$) transaction brokered by the United Arab Emirates’ largest lender.
On March 31, the National Assembly approved President Bola Ahmed Tinubu‘s request to secure up to $6 billion in foreign loans.
This aggressive capital injection stems from a comprehensive borrowing proposal that features the $5 billion Total Return Swap ($TRS$) package with First Abu Dhabi Bank, alongside two separate credit facilities backed by the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
According to President Bola Tinubu, the new loans will inevitably expand Nigeria’s national debt stock, which already climbed to $110.3 billion (approximately ₦159.2 trillion) as of December 31, 2025.
The drawdown comes despite concerns raised by Fitch Ratings over the financing arrangement.
Read Also: Fresh Uproar as Senate Approves Tinubu’s $6bn New Loan Request Amid Economic Concerns
Senate Clears Tinubu’s $516m Loan Request
On Wednesday, April 29 the senate approved a $516 million syndicated loan requested by President Bola Tinubu to fund the construction of Section 1, Phases 1A and 1B of the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway.
This followed the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, chaired by Aliyu Wamakko, presenting a report in plenary.
The committee further suggested that the Federal Government’s borrowing strategy include the finance obtained through Deutsche Bank AG.
According to the committee’s report, the loan has a nine-year term with a three-year grace period and is partially guaranteed by the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, or ICIEC.
Backstory…
This comes exactly one month after the Government has cancelled $717.7m in undisbursed World Bank intervention financing designed to revive Nigeria’s struggling electricity sector.
The cancellation came after the Federal Government formally requested it and all parties decided to stop funding under the Power Sector Recovery Performance-Based Operation because of changing sector realities and the failure to meet important reform benchmarks.
Meanwhile, documents acquired from the World Bank indicate that the development essentially ends the remaining part of a $1.52 billion power sector recovery program.
Read Also: Senate Clears Tinubu’s $516m Loan Request
