By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has requested the National Assembly’s approval to secure external loans of $21.5 million and ¥15 billion as part of the federal government’s proposed 2025–2026 external borrowing plan.
Also, the request consists of a grant of €65 million to be included in the federal government’s external borrowing plan.
The president’s request was contained in a letter read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during the plenary on Tuesday.
In the letter, Mr Tinubu said that the funds will be used to create employment, promote skill acquisition, enhance entrepreneurship, reduce poverty, and boost food security.
He emphasised that the proposed projects and programmes are designed to have a nationwide impact, spanning all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This fresh loan comes as Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N144.7 trillion (approximately $94.2 billion), according to Debt Management Office December 2024 data. A breakdown of the existing public debt showed that about 51.4 percent of the total (N74.4 trillion) is domestic debt, while 48.6 percent (N70.3 trillion) is external debt.