By Our Reporter

Nigeria’s external debt stock rose by 6.6 percent to $145.02 billion in 2025, from $135.99 billion in 2024, according to the World Bank.

The World Bank detailed the country’s external borrowing profile in its International Debt Report 2026, which tracks external borrowing and debt-service trends across low- and middle-income countries.

Published on Friday, the report put Nigeria’s public and publicly guaranteed llllllllllllldebt at $62.4 billion, while private non-guaranteed debt accounted for $54.48 billion.

Short-term debt stood at $28.14 billion, the multilateral said.llllll

NIGERIA’S $5 BILLION SWAP DEAL BACKED BY $6.7 BILLION IN DOMESTIC SECURITIES

The World Bank also said Nigeria obtained $5 billion through a total return swap (TRS) arrangement in 2026, pledging about $6.7 billion in domestic government securities as collateral.

The institution said the transaction had a three-year maturity and a collateralisation ratio of approximately 133 percent, meaning the value of securities pledged was about 33 percent higher than the financing obtained.

The institution said the TRS arrangements have been identified in Angola, Argentina, Colombia, Nigeria and Senegal since 2024, with financing amounts ranging from about $1 billion to $9.3 billion.

“Maturities have generally ranged from one to three years, and disclosed collateralization ratios have typically been between 133 and 198 percent,” the report said.

The World Bank said collateral for the transactions included domestic government securities, external sovereign bonds, US treasury securities or a combination of the instruments.

The report also said Nigeria raised $2.3 billion through a dual-tranche international bond issue, making it the third-largest issuer in the region.

The bond sale, according to the Bretton Woods organisation, comprised a 10-year tranche with an interest rate of 8.625 percent and a 20-year tranche at 9.125 percent.

READ ALSO: Tinubu dumps $20.5bn borrowing plan, seeks approval for $7.7bn loan

On Nigeria’s debt burden, the World Bank put the country’s external debt-to-exports ratio at 212 percent in 2025, while external debt-to-gross national income stood at 51 percent.

Debt service accounted for 19 percent of exports, while debt service-to-gross national income was 5 percent.

The report showed that Nigeria’s average interest rate on new borrowing from official creditors was 1.9 percent in 2025, compared with 9.6 percent for private creditors.

The World Bank said new borrowing from official creditors had an average maturity of 25 years and a five-year grace period, while private creditor financing had a 12-year maturity and an eight-year grace period.

According to the report, external debt across low- and middle-income countries rose 5.5 percent to a record $9.4 trillion in 2025.

“Access to international finance has improved, but the price of that finance has not,” the report said.

Haishan Fu, the World Bank Group’s chief statistician and director of development data, welcomed the return of private lending, but said it came with significant costs.

Fu said while the return of private lending to low- and middle-income countries is welcome, “these countries are borrowing more, paying more, and in many cases leaving less for long-term development”

By Our Reporter

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s position on government borrowing, describing as “absolute nonsense” the president’s assertion that borrowing should not be regarded as a negative practice.

Obasanjo made his position known on Friday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, while speaking at the Ajibosin Platform, a public forum themed “Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to solve grassroots problems and accelerate National Development.”

In April, Tinubu defended his administration’s decision to continue borrowing when necessary, arguing that loans were not inherently bad if the government worked hard to repay them.

The president made the remarks at the State House during a meeting with Plateau State leaders led by Governor Caleb Mutfwang and the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda.

“If we have to borrow, we borrow. Borrowing is not leprosy, we just have to work hard to be able to pay for it,” the president had said.

However, responding to the president’s position, Obasanjo argued that the consequences of excessive borrowing were more damaging than those associated with leprosy, particularly because public debt could affect several generations.

The former president said: “And for anybody to say debt is no leprosy, is absolute nonsense. Debt is worse than leprosy. Because leprosy destroys only one person. Debt destroys generations.”

Obasanjo also expressed concern over Nigeria’s economic performance, particularly the sharp depreciation of the naira against the United States dollar over the years.

To illustrate the extent of the currency’s decline, he recalled the exchange rate when he established his farm nearly five decades ago.

“When I started my farm, 47 years ago, naira to the dollar was one naira to $1.85. Forty-seven years ago. What has Nigeria done in 47 years that we now have 1,500 naira to the dollar? What have we done?” he asked.

He further questioned the knowledge and decision-making capacity of the country’s political leaders, demanding to know what they understood about governance and how such knowledge could translate into better living conditions for Nigerians.

“What do our leaders know? And what do they not know? And from what they know, what can they do for us?” he asked.

The former president also faulted Nigeria’s reliance on international financial institutions, particularly the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), arguing that their economic prescriptions might not adequately reflect the country’s peculiar needs and development challenges.

He maintained that the institutions were established before Nigeria gained independence and questioned their suitability in determining the country’s economic direction.

Recalling Nigeria’s agricultural policies, Obasanjo said the country was discouraged from providing certain forms of support to farmers despite similar interventions being available to agricultural producers in developed economies.

“World Bank and IMF were not designed for us. They were not built by us. They were built before we became independent. And that’s the people who would determine what we do,” he said.

Obasanjo also cautioned against the unquestioning adoption of economic policies recommended by foreign-trained experts, stressing the need for policymakers to consider Nigeria’s peculiar economic conditions when making decisions.

By Chidera Orji

In the drive to boost power supply in the country especially in Kano and Katsina states and their environs, the Minister of Power, Engr. Joseph Olasukanmi Tegbe, has commissioned five transmission substation projects in Kano and Katsina States.

The Minister also used the opportunity and inspected the ongoing GIS substation in Katsina.

The events which were held on Thursday, 22nd and Friday, 23rd October, 2026 respectively in Kano and Katsina states, saw the commissioned projects adding a total of 240MW at 330kV level and 376MW at the 132kV level to the nation’s transmission network, thereby boosting bulk power supply in the North Eastern axis.

In Katsina State, the Minister commissioned two 60MVA power transformers at the Kankia Transmission Substation, increasing its installed capacity by 150 per cent, performed the groundbreaking ceremony for a new 120MVA transmission substation comprising two 60MVA transformers, and also inspected ongoing works at the new 200MVA GIS substation at the 330kV Katsina Substation.

Speaking during the projects commissioning at Kankia Substation, Tegbe said the installation of the two 60MVA, power transformers increased the substation’s installed capacity from 60MVA to 150MVA, equivalent to 120MW substations capacity, noting that the projects are a testament to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the determination to reset the power sector as a foundation for national development.

While performing the groundbreaking ceremony for the 120MVA transmission substation, at Mashi the Minister noted that upon completion, the project will provide additional 120MVA, equivalent to 96MW, to strengthen supply to Mashi and neighbouring communities.

Tegbe noted that issues associated with wayleave and compensation for Project Affected Persons (PAPs) have been resolved, adding that the groundbreaking signifies the official commencement of construction works.

“Today, we break ground in Mashi with a clear purpose, which is to build electricity infrastructure that supports livelihoods and gives this community greater room to grow,” he said.

While acknowledging the World Bank for projects funding, the minister noted that the Katsina projects were delivered by the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Power and Transmission Company of Nigeria, with the aim of strengthening electricity transmission infrastructure and improving bulk power supply across Katsina State.

Speaking, during the projects commissioning, the MDCEO, TCN Engr. Sule Abdulaziz, said that the new projects added new capacities to the transmission network while addressing capacity limitations, noting that the works also involved modernization of the control room to digital control and protection panels, expansion of the 33kV busbar and installation of additional outgoing feeders.

The 96MW Mashi project he said, will further “strengthen bulk power delivery to Mashi and neighboring communities, improve voltage performance, and provide room to accommodate future growth in electricity demand.

Abdulaziz noted that as the Transmission Service Provider, TCN remains committed to developing and maintaining the transmission infrastructure required to convey bulk electricity to distribution companies for onward delivery to consumers. “We will continue to work with NISO, KEDCO and other stakeholders to ensure a more reliable and efficient electricity supply chain”, he added.

Earlier in Kano State, on Thursday, 22nd October, 2026, Engr. Tegbe commissioned the new Walalambe, Transmission Substation comprising two units of 40MVA, transformers. At Kumbotso Transmission Substation, new 300MVA and 100MVA, power transformers were commissioned by the honorable minister, while one number 100MVA, power transformers were commissioned in Dakata Substation as well as in Dan Agundi Transmission Substation respectively.

According to him, the task before the Ministry of Power is to provide infrastructure that allows enterprise to flourish. “With these projects just inaugurated, the Federal Government has opened a new route for bulk electricity to reach the industrial and commercial corridors where investment, production and employment depend on it. This is significant for the communities and for the wider Kano electricity network as it creates a new supply point and relieves pressure on existing facilities,” he said.

The Minister also highlighted the provision of a dedicated 33kV feeder to Lee Group of Companies, which had operated off-grid for more than 30 years. He said connecting the company to the national grid demonstrated the importance of transmission infrastructure in supporting industrial development.

He disclosed that he had directed the Ministry to prioritise the development of three energy zones to promote balanced electricity supply across the country, and pledged to work with the Kano State Government and relevant power sector stakeholders to harmonise interventions and avoid duplication.

He commended Transmission Company of Nigeria and the World Bank for their contributions and appealed to host communities to protect the facilities from vandalism. In his words, “Please help us protect this infrastructure and ensure our vigilance is stronger than ever, to fight the challenge of infrastructure vandalism across the country,” he said.

Tegbe noted that the Kano projects has further strengthened bulk electricity supply to Kano’s industrial, commercial and residential areas by relieving overloaded substations and creating room to meet previously suppressed demand. The present administration, he said is undertaking several power projects to boost electricity supply to ensure that every Nigerian has access to electricity and assured that the government will continue to do all that is required to make this possible.

The Managing Director of TCN, Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, said the projects commissioned, reflect the company’s commitment to further expanding the nation’s transmission network and noted that similar completed and ongoing projects are distributed nationwide.

In his words, “Across the six geopolitical zones, TCN will continue to pursue the expansion of transmission infrastructure, the rehabilitation of existing facilities and the modernization of critical equipment. These efforts are directed at strengthening the national transmission network and supporting the Federal Government’s power sector development objectives under the Renewed Hope Agenda,” he said. He appealed to communities to protect national assets, respect transmission Right-of-Way corridors and report suspicious activities.