Tinubu seeks additional $347m loan for Lagos-Calabar highway, telecoms projects

President Bola Tinubu has asked the national assembly to approve an additional $347 million external loan under the 2025–2026 borrowing plan.

Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representatives, read a letter containing Tinubu’s request during Wednesday’s plenary.

According to the letter, Tinubu said the loan is necessary due to a rise in the funding needs for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, whose cost increased by $47 million, from $700 million to $747 million.

The president said when the borrowing plan was transmitted to the national assembly, the lead arranger for financing only had financing commitments of up to $700 million from lenders.

He said the shortfall in the financing was covered by export credit agencies, adding that it is imperative to increase the project’s financing by $47 million to match the loan size specified in the financing documents.

The president also said $300 million is required for the Nigerian universal communications access project, which aims to bridge the digital divide through the deployment of 7,000 telecommunications towers across underserved and unserved communities.

Tinubu said the project was inadvertently omitted in the computation of the borrowing plan.

THE 2025-2026 BORROWING PLAN

In May, the president asked the national assembly to approve the 2025-2026 borrowing plan of $21,543,647,912, €2,193,856,324.54, and ¥15 billion, in addition to a €65 million grant.

With an additional $47 million allocated to the Lagos-Calabar Road project and $300 million for the universal communication access project, the initial $21,543,647,912—a part of the borrowing plan—has now increased to $21,890,647,912.

THE APPROVAL

Following the consideration of the report on the borrowing plan presented by Abubakar Nalaraba, chairman of the committee on aids, loans, and debt management, the house approved the president’s request.

The senate approved the borrowing plan on Tuesday.

The house said despite the additional borrowings, the federal government’s debt portfolio “remains sustainable”.

“At over N145 trillion, debt to GDP ratio of about 50% is within the international threshold (56%),” the parliament said.

“The current administration has succeeded in reducing the high debt service to revenue ratio from over 90% to less than 70 percent.

“The federal government’s capacity to service the new debt is bolstered by the anticipated revenue gains from the Nigerian Tax Act 2025, projected to grow by over 18 percent year-on-year starting from 2026.”

The house added that the anticipated revenue expansion reduces the risk of future debt distress and provides a buffer for debt servicing.