President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve a supplementary external borrowing plan of $20.52 billion and €1.05 billion for the 2026–2027 fiscal period.
The request was contained in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read at plenary on Tuesday.
Tinubu said the proposed loans would be deployed to critical sectors of the economy, including infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, water supply, security, employment generation and financial management reforms.
According to the President, the borrowing plan is intended to address Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit and bridge the financing gap required to execute critical development projects across the country.
He explained that the projects and programmes captured in the plan were selected after technical and economic evaluations, taking into account their expected contributions to Nigeria’s socioeconomic development.
“These initiatives aim to generate employment, promote skill acquisition, foster entrepreneurship, reduce poverty and enhance food security, all of which improve the livelihood of the Nigerian child,” he said.
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The President added that most of the projects and programmes would be implemented across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He stressed that substantial investment in infrastructure remained necessary to stimulate economic growth and address longstanding development challenges.
“In light of the need for significant infrastructure investment in the country and the vast financial resources needed to address this gap, it has become essential to pursue prudent external borrowings to close the financing shortfall,” Tinubu said.
He further stated that the funds would be channelled primarily into critical infrastructure projects, particularly in the power, transportation and healthcare sectors.
Tinubu urged the Senate to give the request urgent consideration, saying approval would enable the Federal Government to meet its obligations to Nigerians through timely disbursement of funds and effective implementation of the projects.
Responding, Akpabio said the borrowing plan had previously featured in the Federal Government’s approved borrowing framework.
He subsequently referred the President’s request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for further legislative consideration, in collaboration with the Committees on Appropriations and Finance.
“The borrowing plan is attached, but of course, this was even earlier approved in our budget, and also the external borrowing plan was approved as far back as 2025 to 2027,” Akpabio said.
