President Bola Tinubu has asked the National Assembly to approve an extra $347 million loan as part of Nigeria’s 2025–2026 borrowing plan.
The letter from the President was read during Wednesday’s plenary by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas in the House of Representatives.
In the letter, Tinubu said the money is needed to complete the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and support a nationwide telecoms project. He explained that the cost of the highway project had gone up by $47 million — from $700 million to $747 million — due to additional funding needs.
“When the borrowing plan was sent to the National Assembly, lenders had only committed \$700 million,” the President said in the letter. “It is therefore necessary to increase the value of the financing for the project by $47 million to ensure it aligns with the loan size agreed in the finance documents for the project.”
He also said $300 million is needed for the Nigerian Universal Communications Access Project, which aims to install 7,000 telecom towers in remote villages across the country.
“This is a key step to bridge the digital gap,” the President added.
The House later approved the loan after hearing the report presented by the Chairman of the House Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management, Abubakar Nalaraba.
Nalaraba said Nigeria’s total debt was still under control despite the borrowing.
“At over N145 trillion, the debt-to-GDP ratio of about 50 percent is within the international threshold of 56 percent,” he explained.
He also said the government has managed to cut down the high cost of debt repayment.
“The current administration has succeeded in reducing the high debt service to revenue ratio from over 90 percent to less than 70 percent,” Nalaraba noted. “The Federal Government’s capacity to service the new debt is bolstered by the anticipated revenue gains from the Nigerian Tax Act 2025, projected to grow by over 18 percent year-on-year starting from 2026.”
On Tuesday, the Senate had already approved the President’s external borrowing request of over $21 billion for the 2025–2026 budget period. The new $347 million request brings the total borrowing to about $21.89 billion.
