Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has cut his request for new foreign borrowing from $21.2 billion to $7.7 billion, after concerns over the country’s rising debt burden.
The revised request, read in the Senate on 4 November, would partly fund the federal government’s 2026 budget deficit, according to Premium Times.
Tinubu withdrew an earlier request for about $21.2 billion in external loans under the 2026–2027 Supplementary External Borrowing Plan and instead asked lawmakers to approve over $7.7 billion.
The new request supersedes the previous proposal, according to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who referred it to Senate committees for review.
The president said the funds would support infrastructure, defense, agriculture, healthcare, power and education, while strengthening the gains from his administration’s economic reforms.
He added that the government could use concessional and commercial loans, multilateral and bilateral facilities, bridge financing, direct borrowing from international institutions, and Eurobonds.
Eurobonds would receive particular emphasis because they can be completed faster and may raise larger sums at relatively competitive terms.
The reduction followed criticism from the Nigeria Labor Congress, whose president, Joe Ajaero, questioned why Nigeria needed more loans after the removal of the petrol subsidy and amid higher oil revenues. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank have also urged Nigeria to improve tax collection and direct borrowed funds toward productive investment.
Tinubu defended borrowing as necessary to finance roads, electricity, ports and other projects needed for his goal of a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
Nigeria’s National Assembly had already approved a $6 billion external borrowing plan in March, including $5 billion from First Abu Dhabi Bank for budget support and a $1 billion UK export-finance facility for port rehabilitation. It also approved a $516.3 million Deutsche Bank loan for the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway about five months earlier.
