President Bola Tinubu has requested the approval of the House of Representatives to obtain $2.3 billion in external borrowing to finance Nigeria’s 2025 budget deficit and refinance maturing Eurobonds.
The request was contained in a letter sent to the House and read during Tuesday’s plenary session by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen. According to the letter, the total borrowing plan amounts to $2,347,465,000, comprising $1.2 billion in new external loans to finance the 2025 Appropriation Act and $1.1 billion to refinance maturing Eurobond obligations.
Tinubu explained that the move aligns with efforts to diversify Nigeria’s funding sources and deepen the federal government’s securities market. He noted that between September 2017 and May 2025, the Debt Management Office (DMO) had raised ₦1.39 trillion through Sukuk bonds in the domestic market to support road infrastructure development.
The President added that the new external loans would complement domestic borrowing and bridge infrastructure funding gaps. He also proposed the issuance of a stand-alone sovereign Sukuk — with or without a credit enhancement guarantee — from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group.
According to the letter, 25 percent of the proceeds from the proposed Sukuk issuance would be used to refinance expensive government debt, while the balance would go toward financing pre-identified infrastructure projects.
Tinubu urged lawmakers to pass a resolution approving the borrowing through Eurobonds, bridge finance, loan syndication, or direct loans from international financial institutions.
This latest borrowing proposal adds to Nigeria’s expanding external debt portfolio. Earlier in 2025, the Senate approved a $21.5 billion external borrowing plan for 2025–2026, while total public debt had surpassed $108 billion by mid-2025, according to data from the Debt Management Office.