Nigeria will spend about $11.6 billion servicing its debt in 2026, nearly half of projected government revenue, President Bola Tinubu said as he called for an overhaul of a global financial system he said penalises African borrowers. Debt-servicing costs are crowding out spending on infrastructure, healthcare and education, Tinubu said, despite a government tax overhaul aimed at boosting revenues in Africa’s most populous country.
Speaking at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Tinubu said high borrowing costs and limited access to long-term finance were diverting resources away from industry, skills and infrastructure, creating what he described as a structural disadvantage for African economies.
The summit, co-hosted by Kenya and France, drew leaders from more than 30 countries.“Every single dollar that leaves our treasury to pay punitive interest rates is a dollar that did not go into our steel sector, our textile mills, our agro-processing plants, or our digital industries,” Tinubu said.
He added that debt servicing also meant fewer trained engineers and less affordable power for factories.
Now in his third year in office and aiming for re-election in January 2027, Tinubu has introduced some of Nigeria’s biggest economic reforms in decades, this included fuel and energy subsidies removals, devaluing the naira and overhauling the tax system to stabilise an economy battered by inflation, foreign exchange shortages and external shocks.
He said the “painful, homegrown” reforms had stabilised macroeconomic indicators and improved investor sentiment, but argued that gains were being undermined by a global financial system that treats African sovereigns as persistently high-risk borrowers, pushing up interest costs.
Tinubu called for reforms including cheaper financing and deeper economic integration that prioritises Africa’s growth and prosperity.
He also urged stronger action against illicit financial flows and greater support for industrialisation, noting that Africa accounts for less than 2% of global manufacturing.
“Nigeria is not asking for charity, we’re demanding a financial system that intentionally enables Africa to industrialize, to process its own minerals, refine its own crude oil, manufacture its own pharmaceuticals, and compete fairly in global markets”, Tinubu said.
Nigeria spent $5.15 billion servicing its debt in 2025, according to data from the Debt Management Office