President Bola Tinubu has defended his administration’s proposed external borrowing, arguing that Nigeria needs sustained infrastructure investment to achieve its ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
Tinubu said government borrowing should be assessed against the economic value of projects financed, their capacity to generate jobs and their long-term benefits rather than the amount of debt incurred.
The President stated this in an essay titled “From Reforms to Delivery: Our Infrastructure Investment and Growth Strategy”, published on October 29, amid growing debate over Nigeria’s rising public debt and the government’s borrowing plans.
He identified the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, Trans-Sahara Superhighway, electricity grid upgrades and modernisation of major commercial ports in Lagos as priority projects.
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According to him, the investments, alongside improvements in healthcare, education and vocational training, would strengthen economic productivity, reduce transportation costs, expand trade and attract private investment.
Tinubu said the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway alone could reduce logistics costs along its corridor by between 15% and 20%, potentially contributing up to 2% to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product through increased trade, tourism and industrial activities.
The project is also expected to generate about 100,000 direct jobs in construction and engineering, with more than 150,000 indirect employment opportunities in logistics, materials and related services.
He maintained that Nigeria could not achieve a $1 trillion economy using infrastructure designed for an economy substantially smaller than the target.
The President also defended the economic reforms introduced since May 2023, including petrol subsidy removal, foreign exchange market unification and tax reforms.
He said the measures had strengthened public finances, improved macroeconomic stability and restored investor confidence.
Tinubu cited real GDP growth of 4.43% in the second quarter of 2026 and a decline in headline inflation to 14.63% in September, from 20.98% a year earlier.
He also put Nigeria’s gross external reserves at $55.1 billion as of October 9, including approximately $46 billion in net reserves, while the tax-to-GDP ratio had increased to 12.5% from 7%.
The President said improved economic indicators and positive assessments by international credit rating agencies had helped lower Nigeria’s borrowing costs and risk premium.
However, the proposed borrowing has continued to attract scrutiny.
Earlier in the week, Tinubu sought Senate approval for an external borrowing plan of $20.52 billion and €1.05 billion for 2026–2027 to finance infrastructure and development projects.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for detailed, project-by-project disclosure of how the proposed loans would be spent.
The concerns come against the backdrop of rising public debt, which the Debt Management Office put at N166.79 trillion as of June 30, 2026, compared with N159.35 trillion at the end of March.
