Tinubu’s Loan Requests May Raise Nigeria’s Debt To N193TN
Tinubu’s Loan Requests May Raise Nigeria’s Debt To N193TN
Nigeria’s total public debt may jump by N40.61tn to about N193tn if all loan requests President Bola Tinubu sent to the National Assembly in 2025 are approved and fully disbursed, an analysis by The PUNCH has shown.
The requests, which equal about 26.6 per cent of the country’s existing debt stock as of June 2025, come amid growing fiscal pressures and rising foreign-currency exposure.
Figures from the Debt Management Office showed that as of June 30, 2025, Nigeria’s total public debt stood at N152.4tn, made up of N71.85tn external and N80.55tn domestic debt. The DMO said it used an official exchange rate of N1,529.21 per dollar for the June debt report.
However, The PUNCH adopted the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official exchange rates as of November 10, 2025, which were N1,437.29 to the dollar, N1,662.66 to the euro, and N9.33 to the yen for the loan requests.
Based on the analysis by The PUNCH and the official debt report from the DMO, Tinubu’s 2025 loan pipeline could lift the debt stock to about N193.01tn. The increase represents a 26.6 per cent rise in the country’s total debt portfolio, equivalent to about $134.3bn at the prevailing official rate.
The development would push Nigeria’s external debt component above 57 per cent of total debt, increasing foreign-currency exposure. The PUNCH observed that at least three major requests have been made by the Nigerian President this year.
