Bola Tinubu called for an overhaul of the global financial system, saying high borrowing costs and limited access to affordable long-term finance were constraining African economies and diverting resources away from development.
Speaking at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi on Tuesday, Tinubu said Nigeria would spend about US$11.6 billion servicing its debt in 2026, equivalent to nearly half of projected government revenue.
The summit, co-hosted by Kenya and France, brought together leaders from more than 30 countries to discuss economic growth, industrialisation and financing challenges facing Africa.
Tinubu said rising debt-servicing costs were crowding out spending on infrastructure, healthcare and education despite government efforts to increase revenues through tax reforms.
“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.
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He added that the high cost of borrowing was also limiting investment in skills development, energy access and industrial expansion.
Data from Nigeria’s Debt Management Office showed the country spent about US$5.15 billion servicing debt in 2025.
Tinubu, now in his third year in office and expected to seek re-election in January 2027, has introduced some of Nigeria’s most extensive economic reforms in decades.
The measures include removing costly fuel and electricity subsidies, devaluing the naira currency and restructuring the tax system in an effort to stabilise an economy hit by inflation, foreign exchange shortages and weak investor confidence.
The reforms have drawn praise from international financial institutions and investors but have also increased living costs for many Nigerians.
Tinubu said the “painful, homegrown” reforms had helped stabilise macroeconomic indicators and improve investor sentiment.
However, he argued that the gains were being undermined by what he described as a global financial system that consistently classifies African countries as high-risk borrowers, resulting in elevated interest rates and limited financing options.
Analysts at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group this week warned that debt servicing remained one of the country’s biggest fiscal vulnerabilities.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy by GDP and most populous nation, has struggled with rising debt obligations in recent years as authorities borrowed heavily to finance budget deficits, infrastructure projects and economic recovery programmes.
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Although government revenues have improved following subsidy reforms and higher oil production, debt-servicing costs continue to consume a large share of public finances.
Tinubu called for reforms to the international financial architecture, including cheaper financing for African countries, stronger support for industrialisation and deeper regional economic integration.
He also urged stronger measures to curb illicit financial flows from Africa, arguing that the continent continued to lose substantial resources that could otherwise support development.
“Africa still accounts for less than 2% of global manufacturing,” Tinubu said.
“Nigeria is not asking for charity,” he added. “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.”
African leaders have increasingly called for reforms to global lending systems, arguing that high borrowing costs and unfavourable credit ratings unfairly penalise developing economies despite ongoing economic reforms and growth potential.
Economists say lower financing costs and improved access to long-term capital could help African countries accelerate industrialisation, reduce dependence on raw commodity exports and strengthen resilience against external economic shocks.
