President Bola Tinubu has asked the National Assembly to approve a supplementary external borrowing plan worth $20.52 billion and €1.04 billion to finance projects and programmes across key sectors of the Nigerian economy.
The request was conveyed in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday.
According to the president, the proposed loans would fund projects in infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, water supply, security, employment generation and financial management reforms.
Tinubu said the borrowing plan was designed to accelerate economic growth, bridge Nigeria’s infrastructure funding gap and support socio-economic development across the country.
In the letter, the president put the total proposed facilities at $20.517 billion and €1.045 billion, adding that the projects had been selected following technical and economic evaluations.
He said the selection process considered the expected impact of the initiatives on national development, job creation, skills acquisition, entrepreneurship, poverty reduction and food security.
Tinubu added that most of the projects would be implemented across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The president defended the proposed borrowing, citing the scale of investment required to address the country’s infrastructure deficit.
“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,” he said.
He added that the funds would primarily be channelled into critical infrastructure, particularly power, transportation and healthcare, among other sectors.
Reacting to the request, Akpabio said some aspects of the borrowing plan had previously been considered in the budget, while an external borrowing plan had also received approval during an earlier period.
The Senate President said the new request would be referred to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, working alongside the committees on Appropriation and Finance.
The committees are expected to examine the proposal and report back to the Senate within one week.
Their findings are expected to guide the Senate’s next steps on Tinubu’s request for approval of the proposed external borrowing.
