Source: Africa Publicity
Nigeria has drawn down the first tranche of its $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), receiving about $1.5 billion under the deal approved by its National Assembly in March this year.
Bloomberg reported on Friday that Nigeria’s federal government received the funds within the past two weeks through a structured total return swap (TRS) transaction with the United Arab Emirates’ largest lender, citing people familiar with the matter.
On March 31, the National Assembly approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to raise up to $6 billion in external borrowing.
The borrowing plan includes two facilities from the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, among them a TRS financing programme of up to $5 billion arranged with First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Tinubu had previously stated that the proposed borrowing would add to Nigeria’s public debt, which stood at $110.3 billion (about N159.2 trillion) as of December 31, 2025.
The drawdown comes despite concerns raised by Fitch Ratings about the structure of the financing arrangement.
