Nigeria's President Tinubu Defends Fresh Borrowing, Says Lagos-Calabar Highway Will Add 2% to GDP

President Bola Tinubu has defended his administration's fresh borrowing plans amid criticism from opposition leaders, insisting the funds will be invested in infrastructure capable of generating lasting economic value.

In an essay titled "From Reforms to Delivery: Our Infrastructure Investment and Growth Strategy," issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday, Tinubu said the real issue was not how much is borrowed but what is built.

"The real question is not how much we borrow, but what we build, what value we create and what future we leave behind," the President said.

Tinubu said Nigeria cannot build a $1 trillion economy by 2030 with infrastructure designed for a fraction of that size, and listed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, Trans-Sahara Superhighway, electricity grid upgrades and modernisation of Lagos ports as projects expected to strengthen productive capacity.

He highlighted the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as projected to reduce logistics costs along its corridor by 15 to 20 per cent and contribute up to two per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through expanded trade, tourism and industrial activities.

According to him, the project is expected to generate about 100,000 direct jobs in construction and engineering and over 150,000 indirect jobs in logistics, building materials and related services.

"We are not simply building highways. We are opening economic corridors, connecting markets, unlocking industries and reshaping Nigeria's economic geography," he said.

Tinubu cited recent economic indicators, including real GDP growth of 4.43 per cent in Q2 2026, headline inflation decline to 14.63 per cent in September from 20.98 per cent a year earlier, external reserves of $55.1 billion as of October 9, and tax-to-GDP ratio rising to 12.5 per cent from seven per cent.

He attributed the gains to reforms since 2023, including petrol subsidy removal, forex unification and tax reforms.

The defence comes after Tinubu on Tuesday asked the National Assembly to approve a fresh external borrowing plan of $20.52 billion and €1.04 billion, following approvals in March 2026 for $6 billion in facilities for budget support, infrastructure and port rehabilitation.