President Bola Tinubu has requested that the National Assembly approves his plans to secure external loans worth $21.5 billion and ¥15 billion, along with a grant of €65 million.
This is part of the federal government’s proposed 2025–2026 external borrowing plan.
President Tinubu in a letter read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during the plenary on Tuesday explained that the proposed borrowings will be used to generate employment, promote skill acquisition, enhance entrepreneurship, reduce poverty, and boost food security nationwide.
After reading the letter, senate president Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt for review and urged the committee to present its findings to the Senate within two weeks.
Nigeria’s Growing Public Debt
As of Q1 2024, Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N121.67 trillion (approximately $91.46 billion), up from N97.34 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2023 primarily due to new domestic borrowing to fund the 2024 budget deficit and disbursements from multilateral and bilateral lenders.
There has been series of borrowings since then and if the president’s latest request is approved, Nigeria’s debt profile could increase exponentially.
