President Bola Tinubu has formally asked the House of Representatives to approve the implementation of an external borrowing plan valued at approximately ₦10.8 trillion under the 2026 Appropriation Act. The request, conveyed in a letter to the House, seeks legislative authorisation for the Federal Government to raise the funds needed to finance projects captured in the 2026 budget.
According to the president, the proposed borrowing is intended to support infrastructure development and consolidate the macroeconomic gains recorded by his administration. The request comes at a time of mounting concern over Nigeria’s rising debt profile and the government’s continued reliance on foreign loans, despite improved revenue following the removal of the petrol subsidy.
Details of the 2026 Borrowing Plan
The 2026 Appropriation Act provides for ₦29.2 trillion in new borrowing to finance a budget deficit estimated at ₦31.4 trillion. Under the plan, the Federal Government intends to raise ₦18.4 trillion from domestic sources and ₦10.79 trillion externally. The external component is to be sourced through a combination of concessional and commercial loans from multilateral and bilateral institutions, bridge financing facilities and Eurobond issuance.
The request to the House follows an earlier submission to the Senate in October, when the president sought approval to raise $7.7 billion, equivalent to roughly ₦10.79 trillion, to finance part of the 2026 budget deficit. In a letter dated October 26, 2026, which Senate President Godswill Akpabio read during plenary on November 4, Tinubu outlined the structure of the borrowing plan. The Senate subsequently referred the request to its Committee on Local and Foreign Debt for consideration.
The House request also comes shortly after the president sought legislative approval for a supplementary external borrowing plan involving $20.52 billion and €1.05 billion to finance infrastructure and development projects across the country.
Infrastructure Projects and Economic Outlook
The president has defended his administration’s borrowing plans, arguing that Nigeria requires long-term investment in infrastructure to achieve its ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2030. In a statement titled From Reforms to Delivery: Our Infrastructure Investment and Growth Strategy, he said the focus should be on the projects the loans would finance and the economic value they would create.
Among the projects earmarked for funding are the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, the Trans-Sahara Superhighway, improvements to the electricity grid and upgrades to major commercial ports in Lagos. According to the president, these projects would connect economic regions, reduce transportation costs, support agricultural and industrial activities and attract private investment.
Tinubu also pointed to improvements in key economic indicators, including economic growth of 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 and a decline in headline inflation to 14.63 per cent in September from 20.98 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025. He said Nigeria’s gross external reserves stood at $55.1 billion as of October 9, 2026, while the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio had risen to 12.5 per cent from seven per cent.
Debt Position and Servicing Burden
While making the case for the borrowing plan, the president acknowledged the need to manage the country’s debt obligations. Public debt stood at 35.75 per cent of GDP in the second quarter of 2026, while debt servicing consumed about 65 per cent of government revenue in the first half of the year.
Data from the Debt Management Office shows that Nigeria’s total public debt stood at ₦166.79 trillion as of June 30, 2026, comprising ₦91.59 trillion in domestic debt and ₦75.20 trillion in external obligations. The figure represented an increase of ₦7.44 trillion from the ₦159.35 trillion recorded at the end of March 2026. The Federal Government accounted for ₦152.77 trillion of the total, while state governments and the Federal Capital Territory accounted for the remaining ₦14.01 trillion.
The House of Representatives is now expected to consider the president’s request as debate continues over the sustainability of the country’s borrowing strategy and the balance between infrastructure investment and fiscal discipline.
