Says it’s separate from 2026–2027 supplementary external borrowing rolling plan
SPEAKER of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, on Wednesday disclosed that President Bola Tinubu’s request for the implementation of $7.7 billion (N10.79 trillion) is not a new request.
Hon. Tajudeen disclosed this after reading the president’s communication seeking the House approval for the implementation of the external borrowing plan in the 2026 Appropriation Act as part of the approval to finance the budget deficit.
Speaker Tajudeen had on Wednesday, 28th November, 2026 read the president’s request for external loans totalling $20.52 billion and €1.045 billion under Federal Government’s 2026–2027 Supplementary External Borrowing Rolling Plan, with the funds earmarked for infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, security and employment generation.
He said: “This request seeks to satisfy Section 21, Subsection 1 of the Debt Management Office Establishment Act 2003, which requests that the National Assembly be informed of the terms and conditions of external loans and to approve them by resolution.
Section 27, Subsection 1 also provides for parliamentary approval of standard terms and conditions.
“For the avoidance of doubt, this request is separate and distinct from the President’s most recent borrowing request. It neither supersedes nor withdraws that request, which remains subject to consideration on its own merits.
“Accordingly, the President’s request concerns the statutory authorization required to implement external borrowing. This request has been already provided for under the 2026 Appropriation Act,” he noted.
President Bola Tinubu is seeking the approval of the 10th House of Representatives to implement the N10.790 trillion external borrowing plan approved in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The president said the request is to part-finance the 2026 budget deficit.
The request is contained in a letter from the President and read on the floor of the House during plenary by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen.
In the letter, President Tinubu recalled that the 2026 Appropriation Act approved the sum of N29.2 trillion as new borrowings to part-finance the 2026 budget deficit of about N31.4 trillion.
He explained that the total new borrowings further subdivided into new domestic borrowing of N18.4 trillion and new external borrowings of N10.79 trillion.
The President said the N10.79 trillion, equivalent to $7.790 billion at the budget exchange rate of N1,400 to the dollar, is the crux of the request.
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President Tinubu said the external financing would be mobilised through several channels, including Eurobond issuance, concessional and commercial loans from multilateral and bilateral institutions, International Monetary Fund facilities, bridge financing, loan syndications and direct borrowing from international financial institutions.
The president noted that emphasis would be on the issuance of Eurobonds, which is typically faster to conclude, and that all options would be pursued simultaneously considering cost, relative benefits and time required to access the funds.
President Tinubu explained that the proceeds are targeted at critical capital projects across key sectors, including infrastructure, defence and security, agriculture, healthcare, power, transportation and education.
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