President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked the National Assembly to okay a new foreign loan of $7.7 billion to fund the 2026 Appropriation.
The loan request, which is about N10.78 trillion when converted at the 2026 budget benchmark rate of N1,400 per dollar, was contained in a letter from the President which was read on the floor of the Senate by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary.
In the letter, Tinubu explained that the money will be sourced mainly through Eurobond, as well as facilities from multilateral and bilateral lenders, international financial bodies and syndicated loan deals.
He said the fresh borrowing is to finance part of the 2026 budget, boost the country's external reserves and help stabilise the naira.
The President also sought approval for the Minister of Finance and the Debt Management Office, DMO, to be empowered to take all necessary actions to execute the borrowing plan.
Reacting to the letter, Akpabio said the new request seems to replace an earlier borrowing proposal submitted by the President and now gives more details on where the money will come from.
The Senate President thereafter referred the request to the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts to work on it and report back as soon as possible.
2026 budget: Tinubu seeks Senate approval for fresh $7.7bn external loan