Tinubu's $20.5bn loan request: what it covers and what happens next

President Bola Tinubu has asked the National Assembly to approve new foreign loans of about $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion under a 2026–2027 supplementary external borrowing plan. He says the money would fund infrastructure and other projects across all 36 states and the FCT. The Senate has sent the request to a committee, and nothing has been approved yet.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the President's letter at plenary on Tuesday 27 October, Punch and ThisDay reported. The exact sums are $20,517,755,901 and €1,045,083,643. The letter says the funds would go mainly to power, transport and healthcare, with agriculture, education, water supply, security, job creation and financial management reforms also listed.

Tinubu wrote that the projects had passed technical and economic evaluations and argued that “it has become essential to pursue prudent external borrowings to close the financing shortfall” in infrastructure. ThisDay noted that the material read in the Senate did not include a project-by-project breakdown, the terms of each loan or how the money would be shared between sectors.

Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts and asked it to report back within one week, ThisDay and The Nation reported. He said parts of the plan had featured in earlier budget and borrowing approvals. Nigeria's total public debt rose from N87.38 trillion in June 2023 to N166.79 trillion in June 2026, The Guardian reported, though part of that rise comes from the fall in the naira, which raises the naira value of foreign debt.

The opposition has pushed back. ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar urged lawmakers not to approve “a single dollar” until every project, contractor, cost and loan term is published, and questioned the timing so close to the election, Channels, Punch and Leadership reported. He also alleged, without giving evidence, that the money could reach political campaigners through the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway. The Presidency had not publicly replied to his statement at the time of writing.

Pidgin: President Tinubu don ask National Assembly make dem approve new foreign loan of about $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion for 2026 to 2027. E talk say di money go fund power, road, hospital and other projects for all states. Senate don send am to committee; dem never approve anything yet.

How this affects you: Nothing has been approved yet. If lawmakers approve the loans, the money would go to projects in power, transport, health and other sectors, but repayments come from future government revenue, which competes with spending on services. You can ask your senator and House member to push for the project list and loan terms to be made public before a vote.