Tinubu seeks Senate approval for fresh $516.3m loan
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested the Senate’s approval for a $516.3 million external loan to support the construction of key segments of the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway.
The request, conveyed in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during Thursday’s plenary, outlines plans to finance Sections 1, Phase 1a and 1b of the ambitious infrastructure project through a facility arranged by Deutsche Bank AG.
The proposed 1,000-kilometre highway is designed to establish a major transport corridor linking Nigeria’s Northwest to the Southwest. The route will begin at Illela in Sokoto State and pass through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, and Ogun states, terminating in Badagry, Lagos State.
According to the President, the loan will specifically fund approximately 120 kilometres within the first phase of the project. The financing structure involves a syndicated loan backed by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, an arm of the Islamic Development Bank.
The Federal Government is also expected to provide counterpart funding amounting to ₦265.5 billion to cover land acquisition, compensation, and related infrastructure.
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The loan is structured with a nine-year tenure, including a grace period of up to three years, and will attract an interest rate capped at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus 5.3 percent annually.
Tinubu noted that the Federal Executive Council has already approved the financing plan and urged the Senate to incorporate the loan into the national borrowing framework.
He emphasized that the superhighway is expected to significantly enhance connectivity between the northern and southern regions, improve road safety, and lower transportation and logistics costs. The project is also projected to boost trade, strengthen food security, and promote national integration by linking production centres with markets and ports. Additionally, provisions have been made within the road’s central median for future rail lines and utility infrastructure.
Following the presentation, Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debts for further legislative review, with a report expected within one week.
Commenting on the project, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero described the initiative as long overdue, noting that it has been in development for over five decades.
He expressed satisfaction with the progress of ongoing work, which includes both concrete and asphalt sections equipped with solar-powered street lighting. Aliero added that upon completion, the highway could reduce travel time between Sokoto and Lagos by more than 70 percent, cutting the journey from about 13 hours to roughly six hours.
He urged lawmakers to expedite approval once the committee submits its findings.
By PRNigeria
