President Tinubu Writes House Of Reps, Seeks Approval For Extra $47 Million For Lagos-Calabar Coastal Project
President Bola Tinubu has written to the House of Representatives, seeking their approval to amend the 2025-2026 Federal Government External Borrowing Plan to address financial shortfalls.
The request by President Tinubu was contained in a letter signed by Finance Minister, Wale Edun and read by Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, during plenary on Wednesday.
Gistcore reports that the letter indicates an additional $ 47 million is needed for the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project, which has risen from $ 700 million to $ 747 million.
Also, the $300 million Nigeria Universal Communication Access Project aims to provide mobile communication access to over 21 million people across 4,834 unconnected communities, particularly in remote and underserved areas, through the deployment of 7,000 telecommunication towers.
It would be recalled that the Federal Government had, about two weeks ago, announced that it had secured a $747 million loan to fund the first phase of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
The Ministry of Finance noted that the funding arrangement, coordinated by Deutsche Bank, is the largest of its kind ever secured by Nigeria for a road infrastructure project.
Gistcore understands that the first phase of the project to be covered by the loan covers 47.47 kilometres, forming part of the 700-kilometre (435-mile) expressway designed to link Lagos State to Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
In his remark, the Ministry spokesperson, Mohammad Manga, described the syndicated loan as a significant development.
He praised that the project marks a significant step toward achieving the incumbent administration’s infrastructure development agenda.
In a related news, the Senate on Tuesday approved President Bola Tinubu’s external borrowing plan of over $21 billion for the 2025–2026 fiscal period, clearing the way for the complete implementation of the 2025 Appropriation Act.
Gistcore reports that the comprehensive package includes $21.19 billion in direct foreign loans, €4 billion, ¥15 billion, a $65 million grant, and ₦757 billion in domestic borrowing through government bonds.
