Victor Ezeja
Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, has written to the National Assembly seeking approval to take fresh external loans to finance development projects across the country.
The president is requesting approval to borrow $21.5 million, ¥15 billion, along with a €65 million grant.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThis was made known in a letter addressed to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and read at plenary on Tuesday.
The borrowing is part of the Federal Government’s proposed 2025–2026 external borrowing plan.
In the letter, President Tinubu explained that the borrowing was necessitated by the need to address the impact of the first fuel subsidy on the national economy.
“I want to emphasise that the projects and programmes included in the plan were selected based on technical and economic evaluations and the anticipated contributions to the socioeconomic development of the country,” part of the letter read.
The president stated that the proposed projects and programmes are designed to have a nationwide impact, spanning all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
READ ALSO: Nigeria Needs $410bn To Achieve Energy Transition Plan By 2060 – Tinubu
He stressed that the initiatives were designed to provide food security, create jobs, encourage skill development, encourage entrepreneurship, lessen poverty and generally, raise the standard of living for the typical Nigerian.
The Nigerian leader stated that a significant amount of money was required to address the infrastructure gap across the country and that, in light of diminishing domestic funding, it was now imperative to seek prudent external borrowing.
“Given the urgent nature of business and the importance of stabilising the economy, it is therefore crucial to seek approval of the distinguished senate for the 2025-2026 external borrowing plan.
“This will enable the government to fulfill its obligations to the Nigerian people through timely and effective project implementation,” Tinubu said.
After reading the letter at plenary, Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for further legislative inputs and to revert to plenary within two weeks.
READ ALSO: Six Alarming Facts About Nigeria’s Growing Debt Crisis
There have been concerns about Nigeria’s economic sustainability in recent years due to the country’s growing public debt.
According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), the country’s total public debt was N144.7 trillion (about $94.2 billion) as of 31 December 2024. Domestic debt accounts for about 51.4 per cent of the total (N74.4 trillion), while external debt accounts for 48.6 per cent (N70.3 trillion).
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
