- Tinubu Seeks Senate Approval For $516.3m Highway Loan
- Project aims to link North West and South West regions
- Lawmakers say road could cut travel time significantly
President Bola Tinubu has sought the Senate’s approval for a $516.3 million loan to fund part of the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway project.
The request was contained in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during Thursday’s plenary.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the President described the project as a 1,000 kilometre flagship highway designed to link Nigeria’s North West to the South West, improving national connectivity.
According to the proposal, the road will stretch from Illela in Sokoto State through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo and Ogun states, before terminating in Badagry, Lagos State.
Tinubu explained that the loan would fund Sections 1, Phase 1a and 1b of the project, covering about 120 kilometres of the total corridor.
He said the financing structure involves a syndicated loan from Deutsche Bank AG, supported by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit.
The Federal Government is also expected to provide counterpart funding of over ₦265.5 billion for land acquisition, compensation and related infrastructure.
The proposed loan has a tenure of nine years, including a grace period of up to three years, with interest pegged at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange SOFR plus 5.3 per cent annually.
Tinubu noted that the Federal Executive Council had already approved the arrangement and requested its inclusion in the national borrowing plan.
He said the project would enhance connectivity, improve road safety and reduce logistics costs across the country.
According to him, the highway would also boost trade, strengthen food supply chains and promote national cohesion by linking production centres to key markets and ports.
The President added that the corridor would accommodate future rail lines and utility infrastructure.
Akpabio subsequently referred the request to the Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debts, directing it to report back within one week.
Speaking on the development, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero described the project as long overdue.
“This project has been on the ground for the last 55 years. I have inspected the project, and I have seen the progress made. I am highly impressed,” he said.
Aliero added that construction includes both concrete and asphalt sections fitted with solar streetlights, noting that travel time between Sokoto and Lagos could be significantly reduced.
“It will reduce a 13 hour journey to approximately six hours,” he said.
