By Lizzy Chirkpi<\/p>\n
President Bola Tinubu has asked the National Assembly to approve external loans totalling $20.52bn and \u20ac1.045bn to finance projects across the country in 2026 and 2027.<\/p>\n
The request was contained in a letter titled \u201cFederal Government 2026\u20132027 Supplementary External Borrowing Plans\u201d, which Senate President Godswill Akpabio read during Tuesday\u2019s plenary.<\/p>\n
In the letter, Tinubu said the proposed loans would finance projects in critical sectors, including infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, water supply, security and job creation, as well as reforms in public financial management.<\/p>\n
He said a significant portion of the funds would be directed towards infrastructure development, particularly in the power, transportation and healthcare sectors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese funds will primarily be directed towards critical infrastructure projects in various sectors, including power, transportation and healthcare, amongst others,\u201d the President said.<\/p>\n
Tinubu put the proposed borrowing at $20,517,755,901 and \u20ac1,045,083,643, adding that the projects would be implemented across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.<\/p>\n
Justifying the request, the President said substantial external financing was necessary to address Nigeria\u2019s infrastructure deficit and meet its development needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn light of the need for significant infrastructure investment in the country and the vast financial resources needed to address this gap, it has become essential to pursue broader external borrowings to close the financing shortfall,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He assured lawmakers that the projects and programmes proposed for financing had undergone technical and economic assessments to establish their viability and potential contributions to national development.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to emphasise that the projects and programmes included in the Borrowing Plan were selected based on thorough technical and economic evaluation, as well as their anticipated contribution to the socio-economic development of the country,\u201d Tinubu said.<\/p>\n
According to him, the investments are expected to generate employment, promote skills acquisition and entrepreneurship, reduce poverty and strengthen food security.<\/p>\n
He added that the projects were designed to deliver broader economic and social benefits and improve living conditions, particularly for children.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese initiatives aim to generate employment, promote skills acquisition, foster entrepreneurship, reduce poverty and enhance food security, all of which improve the livelihood of the Nigerian child,\u201d the President said.<\/p>\n
The borrowing proposal now awaits consideration by the National Assembly, which must decide whether to grant the requested approval.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Lizzy Chirkpi President Bola Tinubu has asked the National Assembly to approve external loans totalling $20.52bn and \u20ac1.045bn to finance projects across the country in 2026 and 2027. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":77418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n