President Bola Tinubu has sent a letter to the Senate, requesting the approval of the sum of $516,333,070 to be borrowed from external lender to fund sections of the proposed Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway.
In the letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio and was read during plenary today, April 23, Tinubu said that the loan would be sourced from Deutsche Bank to support the construction of Sections 1, 1A and 1B of the 1,000-kilometre highway, designed to link Nigeria’s North-West to the South-West corridor.
The letter partly read: “Specifically, approval is sought for the syndicated financing facility from Deutsche Bank in the total sum of US$516,333,007 for the execution of Sections 1, 1A, and 1B of the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway Project.
“The inclusion of the said financing in the Federal Government’s borrowing plan, as earlier approved by the National Assembly. The Senate is invited to note that the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway is a flagship infrastructure initiative under the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
President explained that the project would traverse Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun and Lagos states, stretching from Illela to Badagry, and is expected to enhance connectivity and economic integration significantly.
“The project is designed to open up Nigeria’s northwest–southwest economic corridor through the construction of an approximately 1,000-kilometre high-capacity carriageway, linking Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos States, stretching from Illela to Badagry.
“It is also expected to enhance north–south connectivity and road safety, improve network performance along the corridor, reduce logistics costs and travel time, facilitate trade and strengthen food security and promote national integration by linking production zones to markets and ports.”
Tinubu said that the financing structure includes a syndicated loan backed by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, while the Federal Government would provide counterpart funding of ₦265.5bn for land acquisition, compensation and related infrastructure.
He said that the loan would run for nine years, including a grace period of up to three years, with an interest rate benchmarked at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange SOFR plus 5.3 per cent per annum.
According to President Tinubu, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved the financing arrangement, even as he appealed to the Senate to fast-track the request.
“I look forward to the expeditious consideration and approval of this request by the Senate. Please accept, Distinguished Senate President and Distinguished Senators, the assurances of my highest regards.”
On the floor of the Senate, lawmakers acknowledged the economic significance of the project, emphasizing that large stretches of the highway cut across several states and would reduce travel time between Sokoto and Lagos from about 13 hours to six hours.
This was even as the Senate President, Akpabio described the project as a major economic game-changer that is capable of saving lives and boosting national productivity.
He emphasised that borrowing for critical infrastructure is justified, particularly where such investments yield long-term economic benefits and can facilitate repayment through generated value.
The Senate President referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, directing it to report back within one week.
Senator Akpabio advised the panel to expedite its review to enable timely consideration of the loan request.
