President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve new foreign loans of $20.52 billion and €1.04 billion. Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the request at plenary on Tuesday 27 October 2026.
The exact figures in the letter are $20,517,755,901 and €1,045,083,643. Business Post puts the combined value at about ₦29.12 trillion.
What the letter asks for
The money is for the 2026–2027 Supplementary External Borrowing Plan. Tinubu says power, transportation and healthcare will get most of it, with education, agriculture, water supply, security, job creation and financial management reforms also named. Most projects would run across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He says the projects went through technical and economic evaluation, and that they are meant to cut poverty, build skills, support entrepreneurship and improve food security. The letter asks for the “early approval of the National Assembly” so work can start quickly.
What happens next
Akpabio sent the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, chaired by Senator Haruna Manu, and gave it one week to report back. The Appropriations and Finance committees are expected to help.
Akpabio also said the external borrowing plan was approved for 2025 to 2027, and that parts of it appeared in earlier borrowing plans.
What the letter leaves out
- No project-by-project breakdown
- No lender names
- No interest rates, repayment periods or other loan terms
- No split of the money between sectors
ThisDay and Vanguard both report that the letter does not carry these details. They have not been published.
Where Nigeria’s debt stands
The Debt Management Office put Nigeria’s total public debt at ₦166.79 trillion ($120.93 billion) on 30 June 2026, up ₦7.44 trillion from ₦159.35 trillion at the end of March. Domestic debt made up ₦91.59 trillion of that, and external debt stood at $54.52 billion, according to Nairametrics’ report on the DMO figures. If approved and drawn down, the new loans would add to the external side.
The election clock
INEC moved the presidential and National Assembly elections to 16 January 2027, and the governorship elections to 6 February 2027, after the Electoral Act 2026 was signed. That puts the presidential vote 81 days after the Senate received this letter. Nothing in the reports links the borrowing request to the election.
The letter landed on the same day Tinubu spoke about his economic reforms while officials outlined a new policy framework. Read our explainer on the Nigerian Economic Policy Framework.
