President Bola Tinubu has asked the National Assembly to approve external loans worth 20.5 billion dollars and 1.05 billion euros under the 2026–2027 Supplementary External Borrowing Plan.
In a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday, Tinubu says the funds would be used to finance projects in power, transportation, healthcare, agriculture, education, water supply and security.
The loans are also expected to support job creation, skills acquisition, entrepreneurship and poverty reduction.
The president says the proposed projects were selected based on technical and economic assessments and would be implemented across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He argues that additional external borrowing is necessary to address Nigeria’s infrastructure gap and meet development needs.
Akpabio has referred the request to the Senate Committees on Local and Foreign Debts and Appropriations for further scrutiny. The committees have been directed to report back within one week.
The request comes amid concerns over Nigeria’s rising public debt and the amount of government revenue spent on debt servicing.
The National Assembly had earlier approved a six-billion-dollar external borrowing plan in March, as well as a 516.3-million-dollar loan for the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway.
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