Stories by Sam Otuonye

President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve a supplementary external borrowing plan of $20.52 billion and €1.05 billion for 2026–2027 to finance critical infrastructure and development projects across Nigeria.

The request was contained in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during plenary on Tuesday.

Tinubu said the proposed funds would support key sectors, including power, transportation, healthcare, agriculture, education, water supply, security and employment generation, while strengthening public financial management reforms.

He explained that the borrowing was intended to address Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit and bridge the funding gap for projects considered important to the country’s socioeconomic development.

Tinubu said the proposed projects and programmes were selected following technical and economic evaluations, with consideration given to their expected contributions to national development.

According to the President, most of the projects would be implemented across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He argued that substantial investment remained necessary to address longstanding infrastructure challenges and support economic growth.

“In light of the need for significant infrastructure investment in the country and the vast financial resources needed to address this gap, it has become essential to pursue prudent external borrowings to close the financing shortfall,” Tinubu said.

He urged the Senate to give the request urgent consideration, saying approval would allow the government to meet its obligations to Nigerians through timely fund disbursement and effective project implementation.

Akpabio said the borrowing plan had featured in the Federal Government’s previously approved borrowing programme.

“The borrowing plan is attached, but of course, this was even earlier approved in our budget, and also the external borrowing plan was approved as far back as 2025 to 2027,” the Senate President said.

He subsequently referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for further legislative consideration, in collaboration with the Committees on Appropriations and Finance.

The committees are expected to review the proposal as part of the Senate’s consideration of the government’s external financing plans.

Meanwhile, the proposed borrowing comes amid an increase in Nigeria’s public debt stock.

Nigeria’s total public debt rose to N166.79 trillion as of June 30, 2026, from N159.35 trillion at the end of March, according to data from the Debt Management Office (DMO).

Domestic debt accounted for N91.59 trillion, representing 54.91% of the total debt portfolio.

The country’s debt stock has also increased significantly since Tinubu assumed office in 2023. DMO data showed that Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N87.38 trillion as of June 30, 2023.

External and domestic debt have both grown since then. Nigeria’s external debt rose from $42.49 billion in December 2023 to $51.86 billion by December 2025, while domestic debt increased from N59.1 trillion to N89.4 trillion over the same period.