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President Bola Tinubu has withdrawn an earlier request to process external loans worth about $20.5 billion and €1.05 billion, replacing it with a fresh request for $7.707 billion. The new plan, read in the Senate on November 4 from a letter dated October 26, is meant to fund the external component of the 2026 budget deficit and selected projects.
President Bola Tinubu has replaced a much larger external borrowing request with a new plan seeking approval for $7,707,404,882.49 for the 2026 budget.
The President had earlier asked lawmakers to approve external loans worth about $20.5 billion and €1.05 billion under the 2026–2027 Supplementary External Borrowing Plan. That request has now been withdrawn.
The fresh request was contained in a letter dated October 26, 2026 and read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Wednesday, November 4, 2026.
According to the request, the $7.707 billion is equivalent to about ₦10.79 trillion at the budget exchange rate cited in the reports. Tinubu said the borrowing would finance part of the external component of the 2026 budget deficit and support projects in defence, security, transportation, agriculture, power, education and healthcare.
The latest request aligns with figures already contained in the 2026 Appropriation Act. The budget approved ₦29.2 trillion in new borrowing to partly finance a deficit of about ₦31.4 trillion, with ₦18.4 trillion expected from domestic borrowing and ₦10.79 trillion from external borrowing.
That means the new external loan request matches the external borrowing component already provided for in the 2026 budget, rather than the larger amount contained in the earlier 2026–2027 supplementary borrowing plan.
Why It Matters
The change is significant because it narrows the immediate external borrowing request before the National Assembly to the amount already tied to the 2026 budget framework. It also links the proposed borrowing directly to the budget deficit and to named sectors, instead of leaving attention on the much larger earlier request covering the 2026–2027 supplementary external borrowing plan.
What It Means for Your Money
For most Nigerians, there is no immediate direct personal-finance change from the request alone. The key money issue to watch is how the approved 2026 borrowing mix between domestic and external sources is executed, since it is tied to funding the federal budget and major public-sector projects.
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The next step is legislative consideration of the fresh borrowing request by the National Assembly. Readers should also watch whether lawmakers approve the $7.707 billion plan as presented and whether further details emerge on the listed sectoral projects and the broader 2026 borrowing programme.
Closing Summary
Tinubu has withdrawn a far larger external loan request and replaced it with a $7.707 billion plan that fits the external borrowing provision already built into the 2026 budget
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