Tinubu Justifies $21.7bn Fresh Loan, Says No $1trn Economy Without Massive Infrastructure
President Bola Tinubu has defended the Federal Government’s proposed $21.7 billion external borrowing programme, saying Nigeria must invest heavily in critical infrastructure to achieve its target of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
Tinubu made the defence in an essay titled From Reforms to Delivery: Our Infrastructure Investment and Growth Strategy, published on October 29, 2026. In the essay, he argued that borrowing should be judged by the economic value of projects it finances, not just the size of the debt.
His explanation comes as his request for National Assembly approval for an additional external financing programme covering 2026 and 2027 faces fresh scrutiny.
The President said Nigeria cannot grow into a much larger economy without infrastructure that can support it. He listed major highway projects, electricity grid upgrades and modernisation of commercial ports as key investments that will improve connectivity, reduce operating costs, stimulate industrial activity and attract private sector investment.
Tinubu identified the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway and Trans-Sahara Superhighway among the projects expected to strengthen Nigeria’s productive capacity. He also highlighted investments in electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure and modernisation of major commercial ports in Lagos.
According to him, these projects will connect economic regions, improve movement of goods and people, reduce logistics costs and unlock investment opportunities across agriculture, manufacturing, trade and other sectors.
He placed particular emphasis on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, saying it could reduce logistics costs along its corridor by 15 percent to 20 percent and could contribute up to 2 percent to Nigeria’s gross domestic product through expanded trade, tourism and industrial activity. He added that the highway is expected to generate about 100,000 direct jobs in construction and engineering and more than 150,000 indirect jobs in logistics, building materials and related industries.
Tinubu said the projects are more than transportation investments, describing them as economic corridors capable of connecting markets, opening new commercial locations and changing the country’s economic geography.
For the real estate sector, he noted that improved highway connectivity could create opportunities for residential and commercial development along emerging transport corridors, though benefits will depend on supporting infrastructure, land-use planning and access to utilities.
The President’s defence follows his request to the National Assembly for approval of a supplementary external borrowing programme worth $20.52 billion and 1.05 billion euros, equivalent to about $21.7 billion. The proposed financing will cover projects and development programmes across the 2026 to 2027 period and involves multilateral and bilateral partners, export credit agencies, regional development finance institutions and commercial lenders.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said about $7.9 billion will come from multilateral and bilateral development partners, with the World Bank expected to provide $5 billion at an average interest rate of 2.1 percent. He said about $4 billion for social sectors, agriculture, energy, social protection, climate and education would be financed entirely on concessional terms.
Oyedele explained that the borrowing also includes financing for state governments and government agencies. About $4.8 billion is earmarked for subnational governments and agencies, including $3.3 billion for state governments and $1.45 billion for agencies and development finance institutions such as Bank of Industry, Development Bank of Nigeria, Transmission Company of Nigeria and electricity distribution companies. He said the Federal Government acts as coordinating authority for external borrowing by states and relevant agencies.
He disclosed that the commercial component carries an average indicative interest rate of 7.8 percent, compared with yields of between 9.1 percent and 9.6 percent on Nigeria’s November 2025 Eurobond.
To support the borrowing strategy, Tinubu cited improvements in economic indicators since reforms began in May 2023. He said real GDP growth rose to 4.43 percent in the second quarter of 2026 from 2.74 percent in May 2023, headline inflation declined to 14.63 percent in September 2026 from 20.98 percent in September 2025, and gross external reserves stood at $55.1 billion as of October 9, 2026, including about $46 billion in net reserves. He added that Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio increased from 7 percent to 12.5 percent.
He attributed the improvements to petrol subsidy removal, exchange rate unification and tax reforms, and said positive assessments from international rating agencies have strengthened investor confidence and improved access to international financing.
Tinubu said government is shifting borrowing strategy from short-term fiscal pressures to longer-term investments expected to generate returns, with longer financing arrangements to match repayment obligations with useful lives of infrastructure assets.
Despite the justification, the plan has attracted concerns about public debt and repayment. Data from the Debt Management Office showed Nigeria’s total public debt rose to 166.79 trillion naira as of June 30, 2026 from 159.35 trillion naira at end of March 2026. The proposed $21.7 billion programme would add to external obligations if approved.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on the government to publish details of projects to be funded and urged the National Assembly to suspend consideration until more clarity is provided.
Tinubu outlined five priorities for the next phase of the Federal Executive Council’s economic strategy: improving food affordability and energy price stability, harmonising budgets and maintaining fiscal discipline, completing major infrastructure projects, improving policy and regulatory environment, and expanding targeted household support and human development investments.
He maintained that government performance should be assessed by completed projects, increased investment, employment and improvements in living standards, not just by securing financing.
