By Deborah Nnamdi
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked the House of Representatives to approve the Federal Government’s plan to raise $2.3 billion in external capital for the 2025 fiscal year.
The proposal comprises $1.2 billion in new external borrowing and $1.1 billion to refinance a maturing Eurobond.
In a letter read on the floor of the House by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen on Tuesday, President Tinubu explained that the funds would be sourced through a mix of Eurobond issuances, bridge financing facilities, loan syndications, and direct borrowing from international financial institutions.
He stated that the borrowing plan aligns with the government’s strategy to maintain debt sustainability while supporting investments in infrastructure and other critical sectors to drive economic growth. Tinubu added that refinancing the Eurobond would help manage Nigeria’s debt profile and ease repayment pressures in 2025.
“The Federal Government has recorded considerable success in the issuance of Sukuk in the domestic capital market for the development of critical infrastructural projects across the country,” the president said.
According to him, between September 2017 and May 2025, the Debt Management Office (DMO) raised N1.39 trillion through Sukuk bonds, which have been deployed toward the construction and rehabilitation of major roads and bridges nationwide.
Tinubu emphasized that borrowing remains a vital fiscal instrument to close Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit, create jobs, and attract private sector investment.
In July, the Senate approved a separate $21.5 billion external borrowing plan for 2025–2026, also presented by the president, as well as the issuance of a N757 billion Federal Government Bond to clear accrued pension arrears under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N149.39 trillion as of March 31, 2025—an increase of N27.72 trillion, or 22.8 percent, from the N121.67 trillion recorded in the same period of 2024.
Meanwhile, Nigeria is currently in talks with China’s Export-Import Bank for a $2 billion loan to finance a new “super grid” project aimed at addressing power shortages and boosting industrial growth. Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed this during an economic summit in Abuja on Monday, noting that the transmission network would link the country’s eastern and western industrial hubs.
