Nigeria’s Senate has sent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s foreign-financing request to committee review, putting a proposal worth about $21.7 billion in equivalent value under scrutiny as official data show public debt at ₦166.788 trillion.
Tinubu asked the National Assembly to approve $20,517,755,901 and €1,045,083,643 under the Federal Government’s 2026–2027 Supplementary External Borrowing Plan. Reuters reported the euro portion as about $1.17 billion, using an exchange rate of $1 to €0.8961, and described the combined request as about $21.7 billion. The exact request is denominated in dollars and euros.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio assigned the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts and invited support from other committees. The panel has one week to report. Akpabio said the report would inform the Senate’s decision. EconoTimes previously covered the Senate’s referral of Tinubu’s borrowing request.
Tinubu cited an infrastructure funding gap as a reason for seeking the financing. The government listed power, transportation, agriculture, health, education, water, security, employment and financial management reforms as intended areas for the funds. It said most projects would cover Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with job creation and food security among the expected benefits. The public account lists sectors but leaves individual project costs and financing terms unspecified.
The Debt Management Office (DMO) reported total public debt of ₦166.788 trillion as of June 30, 2026, up from ₦87.379 trillion on June 30, 2023. The DMO valued external debt at ₦1,379.1842 per dollar in June 2026, compared with ₦770.38 three years earlier. Because foreign debt was converted at different rates, the naira totals alone cannot isolate how much of the increase came from fresh borrowing.
The Senate approved a 2025–2026 external borrowing plan on July 22, 2025. A House committee said that plan’s inclusion in the medium-term expenditure framework meant its approval alone did not establish that new borrowing occurred in fiscal 2025.
Channels Television reported that Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, urged Tinubu to publish loan details. The outlet quoted him as saying, “No lawmaker should sign a blank cheque against Nigeria’s future.” The Senate committee’s report is due within one week.
