By Samuel Olusegun Precious
President Bola Tinubu has asked the National Assembly to approve fresh external loans totalling $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion, opening another round of massive borrowing for the country.
The request was contained in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
Akpabio has referred it to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts to report back within one week.
According to the Presidency, the money is for the 2026-2027 Supplementary External Borrowing Plan to fund power, transportation, healthcare, agriculture, education, water supply, security and employment generation across the 36 states and FCT.
The fresh request comes as Nigeria’s debt burden continues to surge:Total public debt hit N166.79 trillion as of June 30, 2026, up from N49.85 trillion in early 2023.
Domestic borrowing alone jumped 106% – DMO allotted N7.15 trillion Jan-Sept 2026 vs N3.48 trillion same period 2025DMO is already planning another N5.75 trillion domestic bond sale in Q4 2026.
Tinubu argued that the projects have undergone technical assessment and will create jobs, reduce poverty and improve food security.
But the timing – less than 110 days to the 2027 general election – and the scale has renewed concerns over debt sustainability, with debt servicing projected to gulp nearly 50% of federal revenue in 2026.
If approved, this will be one of the largest single external borrowing approvals under the Tinubu administration.
