President Bola Tinubu Federal Government has drawn down $1.5bn from a $5bn financing facility arranged with the United Arab Emirates’ largest lender, First Abu Dhabi Bank, despite growing concerns from global financial institutions over the increasing use of complex derivative financing by African sovereigns.

Bloomberg reported on Friday that the latest drawdown represents the first tranche of a $5bn Total Return Swap facility approved by the National Assembly on March 31, 2026, and is expected to support the 2026 budget, finance infrastructure projects, and refinance existing debt obligations.

The report quoted people familiar with the transaction, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The report read, “Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a $5bn derivatives deal with the United Arab Emirates’ largest lender, pressing ahead with a transaction that has been scrutinised for being opaque.

“The West African nation drew about $1.5bn in the last couple of weeks from a total return swap transaction with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, according to people familiar with the transaction, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to the media.”

The transaction comes at a time when Nigeria is facing higher borrowing costs in international capital markets, forcing the government to seek alternative financing arrangements to shore up its fiscal position and improve access to foreign exchange liquidity.

Under the arrangement, Nigeria is required to pledge Federal Government securities worth about 133 per cent of any amount drawn under the facility. This means that for the full $5bn facility, the government would have to post approximately $6.65bn worth of naira-denominated bonds as collateral.

In return, the Abu Dhabi-based lender provides dollar liquidity to the Nigerian government. The Federal Government will pay a floating interest rate benchmark plus about four percentage points, while the lender receives the returns generated by the underlying government securities.

The transaction effectively allows Nigeria to unlock immediate dollar funding without issuing new Eurobonds or taking on traditional external loans at prevailing market rates, which have become increasingly expensive for frontier economies.

The government has already indicated that the proceeds from the initial $1.5bn drawdown will be deployed to support budget implementation, fund critical infrastructure projects, and refinance costlier domestic and external debts.

However, the financing arrangement has attracted criticism from international financial institutions and market analysts over concerns about transparency and potential hidden liabilities.

In its June 2026 assessment of African sovereign debt markets, the International Monetary Fund warned that derivative financing structures such as total return swaps are often opaque and difficult for investors and creditors to monitor.

The IMF noted that such arrangements are “hard to track, hard to value in real time, and can obscure the true extent of a country’s financial obligations.”

Three days ago, Fitch Ratings warned that Nigeria’s planned $5bn financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank could increase sovereign debt risks and reduce transparency in public debt reporting.

At least 700 Nigerians remain stranded in South Africa three days before the June 30 deadline issued by anti-immigration groups.

It was gathered that despite President Bola Tinubu’s approval of funds for their evacuation, bureaucratic delays have prevented the release of the money, leaving hundreds stranded amid escalating xenophobic tensions.

Although the president approved funding for four additional rescue flights after the first evacuation brought home 258 Nigerians, the money had yet to reach the designated carrier, Air Peace.

This delay, according to officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission and the Nigeria High Commission in South Africa, is stalling the evacuation operation and leaving hundreds of Nigerians exposed to attacks.

The delay has heightened fears among the stranded Nigerians as xenophobic tensions continue to escalate across South Africa.

The President of the Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa, Rev. Frank Onyekwelu has said over 20 Nigerians had died since the renewed wave of anti-foreigner attacks, while many others had been assaulted, displaced or forced to abandon their businesses.

According to the officials, over 1,000 Nigerians registered with the federal government for evacuation. However, only 324 have been successfully brought home so far through a combination of government efforts and private intervention, leaving more than 700 Nigerians at risk of attacks and exposed to the elements.

The first batch of returnees (258) arrived in Lagos on June 11 aboard Air Peace, while the second batch (66) arrived on June 24 aboard ValueJet.

The Group Chairman of MTN, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing attack on foreigners in South Africa , saying the country’s economic growth would suffer without the rest of Africa.

Delivering a deeply political eulogy at the funeral of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant Thokozani Damasane, the former South African Deputy Minister of Finance turned private-sector leader issued one of the most direct interventions by a major African business figure on the country’s immigration crisis.

He pushed back against the narrative that removing foreign nationals would solve South Africa’s socioeconomic woes, attributing the crisis instead to state failure and cynical political exploitation.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” Jonas told the congregation. “Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.”

He placed responsibility for the crisis squarely on the South African government, arguing that weak law enforcement and failing systems have created fertile ground for political manipulation. “The problem is the failure of the state. The state doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?” he asked.

When citizens feel the burn of state failure, Jonas noted, they become vulnerable to opportunists. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Beyond immediate political failures, Jonas offered a sharp historical critique of tribalism and ethno-nationalism, describing them as colonial inheritances designed to divide African people. “The tribe is a product of colonial powers,” he argued, noting that ethnic divisions were historically amplified to enforce indirect rule.

He lamented that this colonial logic has mutated into the engine driving contemporary xenophobic violence. “You would see in the streets, it’s no longer about whether you are from South Africa or not from South Africa. It’s about the tribe, it’s about who you are, you are not like us, and you are different, and therefore we have to persecute you. Something fundamental has been lost in our country. Something fundamental has been lost in our nations,” Jonas said.

,