President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve external borrowing of 20.51 billion dollars and 1.45 billion euros to cover funding gaps in the Federal Government 2026 to 2027 supplementary borrowing plan.
The request was conveyed in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday.
According to the letter, the proposed borrowing amounts to $20,517,755,901 and €1,045,083,643. The funds are intended to address Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit and support critical sectors of the economy.
The projects targeted for investment cover power, transportation, healthcare, education, agriculture, water supply, security, job creation and financial management reforms.
In the letter, Tinubu urged the National Assembly to consider and approve the borrowing plan early to ensure the timely implementation of the proposed projects.
He said the selected projects had undergone technical and economic assessments to ensure they deliver meaningful results, particularly in reducing poverty, improving skills, supporting entrepreneurship and strengthening national food security.
The President also stressed that Nigeria needed substantial infrastructure investment and significant financial resources to bridge existing funding gaps.
He said prudent external borrowing had become necessary to meet the country’s financing needs and support development across key sectors.
Following the presentation of the letter, Akpabio noted that parts of the borrowing framework had featured in earlier government borrowing plans.
He said the borrowing arrangements had previously been included in the budget and that the external borrowing plan covering 2025 to 2027 had also received earlier approval.
However, Akpabio said the latest request would undergo further scrutiny to clarify its scope before the Senate takes additional action.
He referred the proposal to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, chaired by Senator Haruna Manu, for detailed legislative review. The committees on Appropriations and Finance are also expected to work with the debt committee during the assessment.
The review is expected to examine the proposed borrowing, clarify how it fits into existing government debt plans and determine the next steps in the approval process.
The committee’s findings will help establish how the supplementary borrowing request aligns with Nigeria’s existing debt management framework and the government’s broader financing commitments.
The proposed loans are intended to provide funding for projects considered important to economic development, infrastructure improvement, employment creation and better public services.
The Senate’s decision will determine whether the Federal Government can proceed with the proposed external borrowing under the supplementary plan.
