By Joy Yesufu
President Bola Tinubu has asked the National Assembly to approve a $7.7bn (N10.79tn) external borrowing plan to partly finance the 2026 budget deficit.
The request, which was conveyed in a letter dated October 26, 2026, was read by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, during plenary on Wednesday.
In the letter, Tinubu sought legislative approval for the implementation of new external borrowings provided for in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The President explained that the proposed external borrowing formed part of the N29.2tn new borrowing approved for the 2026 budget, comprising N18.4tn in domestic borrowing and N10.79tn in external financing.
He said the funds were required to partly finance the budget deficit and support the implementation of projects and programmes captured in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
Tinubu said, “I write to request for a resolution of the National Assembly to implement the new external borrowings in the 2026 Appropriation Act in the sum of N10,790,366,835,481, which is the equivalent of $7,707,404,882.49 at the budget exchange rate of USD 1 to 1,400 Naira for the part financing of the budget deficit of 20.23 trillion Naira.”
According to the President, the Federal Government plans to explore multiple financing options simultaneously, with a preference for Eurobond issuance because of the relatively shorter time required to raise funds and the potential to secure larger amounts at lower costs.
He, however, noted that the final terms and conditions of the Eurobond issuance, including interest rates and repayment tenors, would depend on prevailing market conditions at the time of pricing.
“The terms and conditions of the Eurobond issuance, being market-related, the final terms and conditions, interest rates and tenors can only be determined at the time of pricing and will be subject to market conditions prevailing at the time,” he said.
The President added that the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Debt Management Office would work to secure the most favourable borrowing terms for the country.
On the utilisation of the proposed loan, Tinubu said the funds would support priority sectors, including defence and security, transportation, agriculture, power, education and healthcare.
He further explained that the external borrowing would help boost the country’s foreign reserves and support the naira through the inflow of foreign exchange.
“The proceeds will increase accretion to external reserves since they will be received by the Central Bank of Nigeria on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, thereby supporting the Naira exchange rate,” he said.
Following the presentation of the letter, Akpabio expressed the belief that the latest request had superseded an earlier external borrowing proposal of $20.52bn and €1.045bn submitted to the National Assembly.
He subsequently referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for further legislative consideration.
The development comes barely a week after Tinubu asked the Senate and the House of Representatives to approve external borrowing facilities totalling $20.52bn and €1.045bn under the Federal Government’s 2026–2027 Supplementary External Borrowing Rolling Plan.
The earlier proposal was intended to finance projects and programmes in critical sectors, including infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, water supply, security and employment generation.
