Isaac Samuel
President Bola Tinubu has asked the National Assembly to approve the processing of external loans worth $20.52bn and €1.05bn under the 2026–2027 Supplementary External Borrowing Plan.
The request, contained in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday, is aimed at financing projects in infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, water supply, security and employment generation.
Tinubu said the proposed loans were necessary to support his administration’s reform agenda and address the country’s infrastructure deficit.
He said the projects and programmes under the borrowing plan were selected based on technical and economic evaluations and their expected contributions to the country’s socio-economic development.
“I want to emphasise that the projects and programmes included in the Borrowing Plan were selected based on thorough technical and economic evaluation, as well as their anticipated contribution to the socio-economic development of the country,” the president said.
Tinubu added that the initiatives were expected to create jobs, promote skills acquisition and entrepreneurship, reduce poverty and improve food security.
He said most of the projects would be implemented across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The president said the funds would be channelled into critical infrastructure projects, particularly in the power, transportation and healthcare sectors.
He urged the National Assembly to give the borrowing plan urgent consideration to enable the government to meet its obligations through timely disbursement and effective project implementation.
After reading the letter, Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committees on Local and Foreign Debts and Appropriations for further scrutiny. He directed the committees to report back within one week.
The fresh request comes amid concerns over Nigeria’s rising public debt and the increasing cost of servicing government obligations.
In March, the National Assembly approved a $6bn external borrowing plan for the Federal Government. The plan included a proposed $5bn facility from First Abu Dhabi Bank to support the national budget and a $1bn export finance facility arranged by Citibank for the rehabilitation of Tin Can Island Port and the Lagos Port Complex.
The National Assembly also approved a $516.3m loan from Deutsche Bank AG to finance the construction of the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway.
Nigeria has increasingly relied on domestic and external borrowing to finance budget deficits and infrastructure projects.
However, concerns remain over the country’s revenue base and its capacity to meet debt obligations, as a substantial share of government revenue goes towards debt servicing.
The Federal Government has maintained that external borrowing is necessary to address the country’s infrastructure gap, finance development projects and meet budgetary obligations.
