FG Won’t Publish Detailed Spending Plan for $5bn First Abu Dhabi Bank Facility – Oyedele

The Federal Government has said it will not publish specific details of how funds drawn from its $5 billion financing facility with First Abu Dhabi Bank will be spent, despite growing scrutiny over the transaction.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, made the position known on Wednesday during a media briefing in Abuja. He argued that the facility had already undergone the required approval process and was primarily structured to help the government refinance more expensive debt and manage its financing needs.

The financing arrangement, structured as a Total Return Swap (TRS), was approved by the National Assembly on March 31, 2026, with the funds to be made available in tranches. The approved programme was designed to support federal funding needs, infrastructure projects, budget implementation and the refinancing of existing debt obligations.

Nigeria has already accessed about $1.5 billion, representing the first tranche of the $5 billion facility. Oyedele previously explained that the government was drawing the funds in phases in order to reduce financing costs while supporting infrastructure, budget execution and debt refinancing.

However, the transaction has attracted attention over the structure and transparency of the financing arrangement. In response to questions about whether the government would disclose exactly how the money would be spent, Oyedele said the government would provide information on its broader spending but rejected the idea that the particular facility required separate disclosure.

“We will not publish how we are spending it. We will publish how we spend government money. There’s nothing special about that loan.”

The minister maintained that the facility should not be treated differently from other government borrowing, insisting that it had been properly approved and was intended to help the government manage its financial obligations.

The issue is likely to continue attracting public attention as the government accesses additional tranches of the facility and implements projects and debt-management measures tied to its broader financing programme.