In May 2025, President Bola Tinubu sent a letter to the National Assembly requesting approval for a new ₦38 trillion loan to fund national infrastructure and reforms. The presidency claims the money is needed to complete key projects, support economic stability, and pay long-overdue pensions.
However, if approved, Nigeria’s total public debt will shoot beyond ₦182 trillion up from ₦144.7 trillion recorded at the end of 2024.
When President Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, Nigeria’s public debt stood at ₦87.3 trillion. In just two years, that figure has nearly doubled. According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), the national debt had already reached ₦144.7 trillion by the end of 2024. With this new loan, the figure could cross ₦182 trillion, a record high.
According to President Tinubu, the loan will be used to fund infrastructure projects across the country, including roads, railways, and the power sector. The presidency also stated that part of the loan would be used to offset pension arrears and pay gratuities owed to retired civil servants. It would also support subsidy removal reforms and fill shortfalls in the national budget.
Within Nigeria understands a large portion of the loans are foreign. The president’s request is a loan of $21.54 billion. €2.19 billion, and ¥15 billion, totalling around $24.14 billion, which is equivalent to the ₦38 trillion figure, but this is a concern.
The value of the naira has drastically fallen in the last few years. In 2020, the exchange rate stood around ₦360 to the dollar. As of June 2025, the naira is trading above ₦1,500 to the dollar, according to figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
This means that the cost of repaying foreign loans in naira has increased by more than 400%. So even if Nigeria borrows a dollar today, it will need more than four times as many naira to pay it back in the future. The effect is that loan repayment is becoming more expensive, and the government is using more of its limited revenue just to keep up with debt servicing.
The World Bank’s June 2024 Nigeria Economic Update reveals that Nigeria now spends over 96% of its revenue on debt repayment. That leaves just 4% for other infrastructural development.
Citizens raise fear, doubt government efficiency
While government officials insist that borrowing is necessary to move the country forward, many Nigerians are left asking: Where has all the previous money gone, and how will this new loan improve their lives?
Citizens are growing increasingly frustrated, not just with the size of the debt, but with the absence of promised developments. From roads to healthcare and electricity, many believe the country has borrowed so much yet delivered so little.
A civil servant in Ondo State, Tunde Agbede, told Within Nigeria that despite the incessant borrowing, development is still far off.
“They keep borrowing, but we still can’t get stable electricity or good roads. Daily, they mention trillions, but what does it change for people like us?” he asked.
Chioma Iwobi, a primary school teacher in Lagos State, says her school still shares desks among three pupils, and electricity is a luxury they get only once or twice a week.
“I hear them on the news saying they borrowed billions for education and health, but where is it? Is it for private hospitals or foreign schools? Because I don’t see it here,” she lamented.
Emeka Uzo, a trader in Enugu, agrees with Chioma. He said, “We are the ones suffering it, they will borrow, eat the money, and then increase taxes and fuel prices. But we don’t enjoy anything.”
With this new loan request, the federal government plans to raise ₦758 billion locally to settle pension arrears and pay outstanding gratuities. While some pensioners welcome the news, many remain sceptical, saying they’ve heard similar promises before.
Elder Joseph Adebayo, a 72-year-old retired railway worker in Oyo State, says he has been waiting for his pension for over five years.
“Every year they say they’ll pay, they even retook our names last year for verification. Till today, nothing. How do we believe this one is different?”