Tinubu seeks $2.3bn external loan to cover 2025 budget deficit, others

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has requested approval from the House of Representatives to secure approximately $2.3 billion in external borrowing to address Nigeria’s 2025 budget deficit and refinance maturing Eurobonds.

The request is expressed in a letter sent to the green chamber and read during a plenary session on Tuesday.

In a video obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday, the letter read by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen to House members detailed a total borrowing request of $2,347,465,000.

This includes $1.2 trillion in new external loans to finance the 2025 Appropriation Act and $1.1 trillion to refinance upcoming Eurobond maturities.

The letter reads, “The federal government has recorded considerable success in the issues of Sukuk in the domestic capital market for the development of critical infrastructure projects across the country. Between September 2017 and May 2025, the DMO has raised N1.39 trillion through Sukuk in the domestic capital market to fund critical road infrastructure projects.

“There is a need to pull resources from external sources to complement domestic issues to help bridge infrastructure funding gaps.

“And two, it is imperative to open new sources of funding for the federal government of Nigeria and thereby diversify the investor base as well as deepen the federal government security markets.”

Tinubu proposed that the borrowings be sourced through issuance of Eurobonds, bridge finance from bookrunners, loan syndication, and direct borrowing from international financial institutions.

He writes, “The proposal is for the House of Representatives to approve the issuance of a stand-alone sovereign debit Sukuk with or without a credit enhancement guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit.

“A member of the Islamic Development Bank Group, the indicative timesheet provided by ICIEC in respect of the credit enhancement is attached.

“The policy premium for the guarantee proposed by ICIEC is 3.5% of issue amount per annum. If the credit enhancement from ICIEC is taken from the proposed Sukuk issuance, 25% of the issue proceeds may be used to repair relatively more expensive debt obligations of the federal government, and the balance will be used to finance the development of pre-identified infrastructure projects.”

The President requested, “Based on the foregoing, I respectfully request the House of Representatives to pass a resolution, one, to raise external capital in the sum of $2,347,465,000, comprised of new external borrowing in the 2025 Appropriations Act, $1,229,113,000, and refinancing of maturing euro bonds of $1,118,352,000 through any of the following options: issuance of euro bonds, bridge finance facility from book loaners, loan syndication, and direct borrowing from international financial institutions.

“Two, to issue a debit stand-alone sovereign Sukuk for up to $500 million USD plus with or without credit enhancement from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credits.”

This latest borrowing plan builds on Nigeria’s aggressive fiscal strategy under Tinubu’s administration. Earlier in 2025, the Senate approved a $21.5 billion external borrowing framework for 2025-2026 to plug budget shortfalls and support sectors like infrastructure, agriculture, health, and education.

In July, lawmakers greenlit an additional $347 million loan and ₦757 billion in pension bond arrears.

But the borrowings have been labelled as setting a “dangerous fiscal precedent,” with total public debt exceeding $108 billion by mid-2025, according to DMO data.