Tinubu Defends Borrowing, Says Loans Will Fund Growth-Driving Projects

President Bola Tinubu has defended his administration’s decision to borrow for infrastructure development, saying the investments are intended to expand economic opportunities and support Nigeria’s ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

“The real question is not how much we borrow, but what we build, what value we create and what future we leave behind,” Tinubu said in an essay titled “From Reforms to Delivery: Our Infrastructure Investment and Growth Strategy.”

The President highlighted major road projects, electricity grid upgrades and the modernisation of commercial ports in Lagos as investments expected to improve trade, connect markets and strengthen industrial activity. He said the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway alone could create about 100,000 direct jobs and more than 150,000 indirect jobs.

Tinubu also pointed to recent economic figures, including 4.43 per cent real GDP growth in the second quarter of 2026 and a drop in headline inflation to 14.63 per cent in September. He credited the figures to reforms introduced since May 2023, including petrol subsidy removal, exchange rate unification and tax reforms.

He argued that improved investor confidence could help Nigeria secure longer-term financing at lower costs, while insisting that borrowing should increasingly fund projects capable of generating lasting economic returns rather than meet short-term fiscal needs.

The President said his administration would prioritise the completion of major infrastructure projects, fiscal discipline, food affordability, energy price stability, regulatory efficiency and targeted support for households. He maintained that the ultimate measure of its economic strategy would be the projects delivered, jobs created and improvements in Nigerians’ living standards.