President Bola Tinubu has requested the national assembly’s approval for an additional $347 million external loan under the 2025–2026 borrowing plan.
President Bola Tinubu has requested the national assembly’s approval for an additional $347 million external loan under the 2025–2026 borrowing plan. The request, presented by House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, includes $47 million to address increased costs for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which rose from $700 million to $747 million.
“When the borrowing plan was transmitted to the national assembly, the lead arranger for financing only had financing commitments of up to $700 million from lenders,” Tinubu explained. He added that export credit agencies filled the initial shortfall, but “it is imperative to increase the project’s financing by $47 million.”
Additionally, Tinubu seeks $300 million for the Nigerian universal communications access project, targeting the deployment of 7,000 telecom towers in underserved communities. He said the initiative “was inadvertently omitted in the computation of the borrowing plan.”
With these additions, the total borrowing under the plan increases to $21.89 billion. Lawmakers have since approved the proposal, affirming the country’s debt remains sustainable.