Oyedele confirms Nigeria has accessed first $1.5bn under $5bn Abu Dhabi financing deal

NIGERIA has drawn the first $1.5 billion from its $5 billion financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), according to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele.

Oyedele disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja, confirming the first utilisation of the financing package.

He explained that the facility, which had already secured approval from the National Assembly, is designed to refinance high-cost debt, finance critical infrastructure projects and support the implementation of the federal budget.

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“The approval for that loan went to the National Assembly, so everybody is aware of it. It’s for refinancing of expensive debts, financing of infrastructure, as well as budgets,” the minister said.

Oyedele noted that the government would not issue a public announcement every time funds are drawn from the facility, describing the process as routine.

“So, we don’t want to start making press releases each time we do a drawdown. It is not different from any other loan,” he added.

His remarks represent the first official confirmation that the Nigerian government has begun accessing the financing arrangement.

The confirmation comes days after Bloomberg reported that Nigeria had obtained about $1.5 billion through a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, marking the first drawdown under the broader $5 billion agreement.

The minister explained that the financing package was intentionally structured to allow Nigeria to access the funds in phases instead of drawing the full amount at once.

According to him, the arrangement helps reduce borrowing costs because interest is charged only on the portion of the facility that has been accessed.

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“The loan is meant to be a drawdown in tranches, and one of the advantages of that is, if you need $5 billion and you take everything at once, you start paying interest, even though you’re not spending all of it now. So, this has been structured in a way that makes us even more efficient in the cost of borrowing by taking what we need part time,” Oyedele said.

He added that the phased drawdown forms part of the government’s broader debt management strategy aimed at lowering financing costs while ensuring funding is available for key national priorities.