28th May 2025

President Bola Tinubu

•NASS set to approve Tinubu’s loan request, foreign debt nears $70bn, economists worry over high debt-servicing

Nigeria’s public debt is set for another significant jump as President Bola Tinubu has requested the National Assembly’s approval to secure fresh foreign loans amounting to about $24.14bn.

At the prevailing official exchange rate of N1,583.74/$1, the proposed borrowing would add approximately N38.24tn to the existing debt stock, potentially pushing Nigeria’s total public debt from N144.67tn at the end of 2024 to over N182.91tn by 2026.

The fresh borrowing is composed of $21.54bn, €2.19bn, and ¥15bn. Using the latest market exchange rates—€1 to $1.1381 and ¥1 to $0.0068—the euro component converts to approximately $2.5bn while the Japanese yen translates to $102m.