The federal government spent N22.7 trillion without prior approval from the National Assembly, but the Senate has now approved the spending after a report was presented by Ibrahim Gobir, the Senate Leader.

The funds were borrowed by the federal government from the Central Bank of Nigeria through "ways and means advances" and were disbursed to various agencies, including the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading, Azura Power West Africa, Niger Delta Power Holding Company, and Accugas Limited.

President Muhammadu Buhari had requested approval for the spending in December 2022, but some opposition senators demanded records of how the funds were spent before granting approval.

To address the issue, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, appointed an ad hoc committee chaired by Gobir to liaise with relevant ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) on the spending.

In January 2023, Buhari asked the Senate to securitise the N22.7 trillion ways and means loan to avoid accruing N1.8 trillion in interest. Securitisation involves pooling together various types of debt instruments and selling them as bonds to investors.

Patience Oniha, Director-General of DMO, said securitising the ways and means advances would improve debt transparency by including the debt in the public debt stock. If the House of Representatives approves the spending, Nigeria's public debt will exceed the current level of N46.25 trillion.