Tinubu Seeks Senate Approval to Borrow $516m to Construct 120km part of 1,000km Badagry Sokoto Highway
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has again written to the Senate to seek approval for for his government to borrow $516,333,007 million loan from a Deutsche bank to fund the construction of Sections 1, Phase 1a and 1b of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway.
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio during Senate plenary on Thursday read the president’s letter which explains that the loan will be used for the 1,000km road project project meant to link Nigeria’s Northwest to the Southwest.
According to Akpabio, the highway would run from Illela, Sokoto State, through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, and Ogun, terminating in Badagry, Lagos State.
The President’s letter disclosed that the loan will cover Sections 1, Phase 1a, and 1b, spanning 120km of the total 1,000km corridor
According to the the letter, the proposed financing arrangement comprises a syndicated loan to be secured through Deutsche Bank AG, supported by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), the insurance arm of the Islamic Development Bank.
It further explained that the Federal Government would provide counterpart funding in the sum of ₦265,542,689,569, covering land acquisition, compensation, and ancillary infrastructure.
The loan has a tenor of nine years, including a grace period of up to three years, with an interest rate not exceeding the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) SOFR plus 5.3 percent per annum.
The President noted that the Federal Executive Council had already approved the financing arrangement and requested the Senate to include the loan in the national borrowing plan.
The letter states that the superhighway will improve North-South connectivity, enhance safety, and reduce logistics costs. The project is also expected to strengthen trade, food security, and national cohesion by linking production zones to markets and ports as well as reserve the central median for future rail integration and utility corridors.
Some lawmakers praised the President for initiating the expansive road projects which according to them will shorten travel time from Sokoto to Lagos by over 70%.
In his remarks, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) expressed support for the initiative, noting that the project has been in the making for 55 years.
“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.”
Aliero, a former governor of Kebbi State who later served as the Minister of FCT revealed that the ongoing work features both concrete and asphalt roads fitted with solar streetlights. He noted that upon completion, travel time from Sokoto to Lagos would drop by more than 70%—reducing a 13-hour journey to approximately six hours.