President Bola Tinubu has formally requested the National Assembly’s approval to secure a $347 million loan as part of the 2025–2026 external borrowing plan.
The request was presented during Wednesday’s plenary session when Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas read the president’s letter to lawmakers.
Tinubu explained that the loan is needed to address a funding shortfall in the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, whose cost has risen by $47 million, from $700 million to $747 million. He noted that when the original borrowing plan was submitted to the National Assembly, only $700 million in financing had been secured from lenders, with the remainder covered by export credit agencies.
“It has become necessary to raise the project’s loan value by $47 million to reflect the updated amount in the financing agreements,” Tinubu wrote.
Additionally, the President noted that $300 million of the requested amount will fund the Nigerian Universal Communications Access Project. This key telecommunications initiative aims to reduce the digital divide by deploying 7,000 telecom towers to underserved rural communities.
In May, Tinubu had earlier sought the National Assembly’s approval for a borrowing plan totaling $21.54 billion, €2.19 billion, and ¥15 billion, alongside a €65 million grant.
With the inclusion of the additional $47 million for the coastal highway and $300 million for the telecoms project, the total loan request has now slightly increased from $21.54 billion to $21.89 billion.
