President Bola Tinubu has defended his administration’s borrowing plan declaring that the plan will finance investments that generate economic returns.
In an essay titled “From reforms to delivery: Our infrastructure investment and growth strategy,” the President emphasized that the central question facing the nation is not the volume of loans secured from international institutions and banks, but rather the tangible assets built, the economic value generated, and the enduring future left behind.
Pointing to major capital projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, the Trans-Sahara Superhighway, electricity grid upgrades, and the modernization of key commercial ports in Lagos, Tinubu argued that strategic debt is essential for connecting economic regions, lowering logistics costs, unlocking agricultural and industrial potential, and attracting private investment.
Highlighting the economic impact of these initiatives, the President noted that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway alone is expected to reduce logistics expenses along its corridor by 15 to 20 percent, add up to two percent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product through expanded commerce and tourism, and generate approximately 100,000 direct construction jobs alongside over 150,000 indirect roles in logistics and auxiliary services.
He stressed that realizing the administration’s broader ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030 requires transitioning away from legacy infrastructure designed for a fraction of the nation’s current size, insisting that sustainable capital expenditure is the engine of higher productivity, industrialization, and trade.
The President attributed the government’s growing capacity to attract long-term financing to the hard economic decisions implemented since May 2023, including the removal of the petrol subsidy, exchange rate unification, and comprehensive tax reforms.
These structural shifts have fostered measurable macroeconomic recovery, highlighted by a real GDP growth of 4.43 percent in the second quarter of 2026, a decline in headline inflation to 14.63 percent in September from 20.98 percent a year prior, an increase in gross external reserves to $55.1 billion by October 9, 2026, and an improvement in the tax-to-GDP ratio to 12.5 percent.
Tinubu maintained that these improving fundamentals have drastically decreased the country risk premium and lowered borrowing costs, earning independent validation from global rating agencies and international investors.
Reiterating his administration’s commitment to fiscal discipline, Tinubu stated that public borrowing is being deliberately redirected toward long-term arrangements that match the lifespan of infrastructure assets, thereby reducing refinancing pressures and securing competitive funding for wealth-creating ventures.
He outlined five core priorities for the next phase of the Federal Executive Council’s economic strategy, focusing on food and energy price stability, budget harmonization, high-impact infrastructure completion, regulatory efficiency, and targeted human development.
Concluding his address, the President underscored that securing financing is merely a preliminary step, as true success will ultimately be measured by completed projects, job creation, and tangible improvements in the living standards of ordinary Nigerians.
