President Bola Tinubu has asked the House of Representatives to approve the implementation of an external borrowing plan worth about ₦10.8 trillion under the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The request was conveyed in a letter read by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas during plenary on Wednesday, November 11.
Tinubu said the proposed borrowing would support the implementation of projects captured in the 2026 budget and strengthen the macroeconomic gains recorded by his administration.
*Not A Fresh Borrowing, Says Speaker*
Speaker Abbas clarified that the ₦10.790 trillion was not a new borrowing plan.
“It is important to say that the request is not a fresh borrowing plan. The National Assembly previously approved this amount and provided for it in the 2026 Appropriation Act as part of the approved borrowing to finance the budget deficit,” Abbas said.
The President explained that his request was in line with the provisions of Sections 21(1) and 27(1) of the Debt Management Office Establishment Act 2003, which require the National Assembly to approve the terms and conditions of external loans before they are accessed.
In the letter, Tinubu wrote:
“I write to request for the permission of the House of Representatives to implement the new external borrowing plan contained in the 2026 Appropriation Act in the sum of ₦10,790,366,835,481 which is equivalent to $7,707,404,882.49 at the budget exchange rate of $1 to ₦1,400 for the part financing of the budget deficit of ₦29.218 trillion.”
Breakdown Of 2026 Borrowing
The 2026 Appropriation Act approved ₦29.218 trillion as new borrowings to partly finance the 2026 budget deficit of ₦31.545 trillion.
The total new borrowing was subdivided into domestic borrowing of ₦18.28 trillion and new external borrowing of ₦10.790 trillion.
The President proposed raising the external component through a combination of concessional and commercial loans from multilateral and bilateral institutions, bridge financing facilities and Eurobond issuance.
He said priority would be given to Eurobond issuance because of its relatively faster completion process and potential to raise substantial funds at competitive costs.
He however acknowledged that final interest rates, repayment periods and other borrowing conditions would depend on prevailing conditions in the international financial market when the facilities are priced.
What The Loans Will Fund
In a statement titled _From Reforms to Delivery: Our Infrastructure Investment and Growth Strategy_, Tinubu said the focus should be on the projects the loans would finance and the economic value they would create, not just the amount borrowed.
“The key question is not how much we borrow, but what we build, the value we create and the future we leave behind,” he said.
He listed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, Trans-Sahara Superhighway, electricity grid improvements and upgrades to major commercial ports in Lagos among the projects the government plans to fund.
The President also said the funds would support projects in defence and security, transportation, agriculture, power, education and healthcare.
Tinubu Defends Borrowing
Tinubu defended his administration’s borrowing plans, arguing that Nigeria requires long-term investments in infrastructure to achieve its ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
He cited economic gains including GDP growth of 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, headline inflation dropping to 14.63 per cent in September from 20.98 per cent in the same period last year, gross external reserves of $55.1 billion as of October 9, 2026, and tax-to-GDP ratio increasing to 12.5 per cent from seven per cent.
He also said net FAAC allocations rose by 44 per cent from ₦15.2 trillion in 2024 to ₦21.9 trillion in 2025.
Criticism From NLC
The request comes amid growing concerns over Nigeria’s rising debt profile.
According to the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s total public debt stood at ₦166.79 trillion as of June 30, 2026, comprising ₦91.59 trillion in domestic debt and ₦75.20 trillion in external obligations.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has questioned the government’s continued borrowing despite increased revenue following the removal of petrol subsidy.
NLC President Joe Ajaero questioned the justification for seeking additional foreign loans, particularly when the 2026 budget had been prepared using an oil price benchmark of $70 per barrel and debt servicing took about 65% of revenue in the first half of the year.
Speaker Abbas also clarified that the request is distinct from the President’s separate supplementary borrowing request for $20.52 billion and €1.05 billion, which remains subject to consideration on its own merit.
The House is expected to refer the request to its Committee on Local and Foreign Debt for consideration.
