RFA Breakfast Paper - October 27, 2026
Tinubu Seeks $20.52bn External Borrowing
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday asked the Senate to approve a supplementary external borrowing plan of $20.52bn and €1.05bn for 2026–2027 to fund power, transport, healthcare, agriculture, education, water and security projects across the 36 states and the FCT. Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the plan sits within the 2025–2027 external borrowing programme already approved and referred it to the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts alongside Appropriations and Finance. The request comes as total public debt rose to ₦166.79trn at end-June 2026 from ₦159.35trn in March, per the DMO, with external debt at $51.86bn at end-2025. For investors, a sizeable new external pipeline raises the prospect of further Eurobond and concessional issuance, adding supply to Nigeria's dollar curve, while reserves above $55bn cushion repayment capacity. The committee's terms and funding mix are the next signal.
Chip Rally Lifts Nasdaq 1.18% Before Fed
The Nasdaq rose 1.18% to 26,477.81 and the S&P 500 gained 0.60% to 7,722.60 on Tuesday, while the Dow edged up 0.03%. Semiconductors led for a third session, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 3.60%, as Anthropic's IPO filing kept AI demand in focus. Conference Board consumer confidence jumped to 91.7 against an 81.0 forecast. Energy was the weakest sector as Brent eased on Middle East talks. Breadth was thin, with the equal-weight S&P barely higher. The Fed decision and megacap earnings follow on Wednesday.
Dangote Cement Lifts NGX ASI 1.07%
The NGX All-Share Index rose 1.07% to a record 253,990.06 on Tuesday, adding ₦1.75trn to lift market capitalisation to ₦164.91trn. Dangote Cement gained 9.80% to ₦1,341.90, pushing the Industrial Index to 11,834.55 from 11,218.05. Volume surged to 5.23bn shares across 35,882 deals, with First HoldCo accounting for 4.87bn shares on the Premium Board. The Banking Index was flat as gains in Wema Bank and Access Holdings offset losses in Fidelity Bank, GTCO and UBA, while insurance stocks led decliners. With nine-month results flowing, large-cap earnings remain the main driver of the record run.
