President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has requested approval from lawmakers to raise almost $24 billion for an external borrowing plan over the next two years to boost economic growth.
The loans, comprising $21.5 billion, 2-billion-euro and 15-billion-yen, will be used to fund projects in sectors including infrastructure, health and agriculture, Tinubu said in a letter to federal lawmakers, that was read by the Senate president on Tuesday,” all of which will improve the livelihoods of the average Nigerian,” according to Bloomberg.
Tinubu said the fresh $21.5 billion external loan and a ₦758 billion domestic bond will help fund key sectors and settle outstanding pension liabilities.
The requests were contained in separate letters sent to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and read during plenary sessions on Tuesday.
The proposals have now been referred to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for further legislative action, with a report expected in two weeks.
According to the President, the loan will be used to finance critical projects in infrastructure, health, education, and water supply across the country.
In a related request, Tinubu asked the Senate to authorise the issuance of Federal Government bonds in the domestic debt market, totalling ₦757.9 billion, to address pension arrears under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
He also requested approval to raise an additional $2 billion from the domestic market to support investments in critical sectors of the economy. This request has also been sent to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for review.
Earlier, the President had written to the House of Representatives to seek approval for the revised 2025–2026 external borrowing plan.
According to the letter read by the Speaker, the borrowing plan includes $21.5 billion, €2.2 billion, ¥15 billion Japanese yen, and a €65 billion grant.
It noted that the loans are intended to address the country’s infrastructure deficit and improve employment, among other objectives.
He also reiterated his request to borrow ₦757.98 billion from the domestic market to settle outstanding pension liabilities.
According to figures released by the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria’s total public debt stood at ₦144.6 trillion as of December 31, 2024.
The data shows that external debt accounted for ₦70.2 trillion, while domestic debt amounted to ₦74.3 trillion.
A breakdown of the figures reveals that the federal government was responsible for ₦62.9 trillion of the external debt and ₦70.4 trillion of the domestic debt. In contrast, state governments owed ₦7.3 trillion externally and ₦3.9 trillion domestically.
