Tinubu Proposes $20.5bn New Foreign Loans for 2026–2027 Budget Deficit
ABUJA — President Bola Tinubu has officially requested the Senate’s approval for a massive supplementary external borrowing plan totaling $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion to finance critical infrastructure and development projects across Nigeria.
The President’s request was contained in a letter read on Tuesday during plenary by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio. The proposed financing window spans the 2026–2027 fiscal period.
According to the communication, the targeted external financing consists of exactly $20,517,755,901 and €1,045,083,643. The funds are earmarked for nationwide interventions across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), targeting key sectors such as power, transportation, agriculture, healthcare, education, water supply, and national security.
President Tinubu explained that the projects were selected after rigorous technical and economic assessments. He noted that the scale of Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit, paired with the substantial financial resources required to address it, made the additional external borrowing inevitable.
“The proposed borrowing is necessary to bridge Nigeria’s infrastructure funding gap, sustain economic growth, generate employment, and improve the living conditions of Nigerians,” the President stated in the letter.
He added that the investments are designed to foster skills acquisition, stimulate entrepreneurship, alleviate poverty, and strengthen food security.
Urging the National Assembly to grant the request urgent consideration, Tinubu emphasized that prompt approval would stabilize the economy and ensure the timely disbursement of funds for project execution.
However, the communication delivered to the upper chamber did not include a detailed, project-by-project breakdown of the credit facilities, specific financing terms, or the exact amounts allocated to individual sectors.
Following the reading of the letter, Senate President Godswill Akpabio referred the executive communication to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts. The committee has been mandated to carry out further legislative scrutiny—potentially collaborating with the Senate Committee on Appropriations—and report back to the plenary within one week.
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