President Bola Tinubu has asked the House of Representatives to approve an extra $347 million loan to support ongoing works on the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway.
The request, which forms part of Nigeria’s revised 2025–2026 borrowing plan, was contained in a letter read by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen during Wednesday’s plenary session.
Tinubu explained that the total cost of the highway project had risen from $700 million to $747 million, creating a financing gap that must be closed to keep the project on schedule.
According to the president, the projects under the updated borrowing plan were carefully chosen “for their potential to create jobs, support local businesses, enhance skills, and reduce poverty.”
The House has referred the request to its Joint Committee on Finance, Aids, Loans, and Debt Management for detailed scrutiny. The committee is expected to examine the loan terms and report back with recommendations.
The new request, however, has reignited public concern over Nigeria’s growing debt profile under the Tinubu administration.
Figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO) show that the country’s total public debt climbed to ₦144.67 trillion ($94.23 billion) by the end of December 2024 — a 48.58 percent jump from ₦97.34 trillion ($108.23 billion) in December 2023.
Between September and December 2024 alone, the debt stock rose by 1.65 percent, driven by both domestic and external borrowing.
External debt recorded the sharpest surge, rising by 83.89 percent — from ₦38.22 trillion ($42.5 billion) in December 2023 to ₦70.29 trillion ($45.78 billion) a year later. Analysts attributed this to fresh loan inflows and the weakening naira, which inflated the local value of dollar-denominated debts.
Domestic debt also increased by 25.77 percent, moving from ₦59.12 trillion ($65.73 billion) to ₦74.38 trillion ($48.44 billion) within the same period.
Back in May, Tinubu had sought National Assembly approval for a borrowing plan totaling $21,543,647,912, €2,193,856,324.54, and ¥15 billion, alongside a €65 million grant. With the additional $47 million now earmarked for the Lagos–Calabar project and $300 million for the universal communication access project, the borrowing plan has been revised upward to $21,890,647,912.
