President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested the Senate’s approval for a $516,333,007 loan to finance key phases of the proposed Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway project.
In a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during Thursday’s plenary, the President said the facility, to be secured from Deutsche Bank AG, would fund Sections 1, Phase 1a and 1b of the 1,000-kilometre highway.
Tinubu explained that the flagship project is designed to connect Nigeria’s Northwest to the Southwest, running from Illela in Sokoto State through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo and Ogun states, and terminating in Badagry, Lagos State.
According to the President, the loan will cover about 120 kilometres of the corridor and forms part of a broader financing arrangement structured as a syndicated facility.
The arrangement is expected to be backed by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, the insurance arm of the Islamic Development Bank.
He disclosed that the Federal Government would provide counterpart funding of ₦265.54 billion to cover land acquisition, compensation and related infrastructure.
Tinubu further stated that the loan has a tenure of nine years, including a grace period of up to three years, with an interest rate pegged at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange SOFR plus 5.3 per cent per annum.
He noted that the Federal Executive Council had already approved the financing plan and urged the Senate to incorporate it into the national borrowing framework.
Highlighting the project’s significance, the President said the superhighway would boost connectivity, improve road safety and reduce logistics costs, while enhancing trade, food security and national integration by linking production hubs to markets and ports.
He added that provisions had been made for future rail lines and utility corridors along the route.
Following the presentation, Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debts for further legislative scrutiny, with a report expected within one week.
Speaking in support of the project, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero described it as a long-awaited development initiative, noting that it had been in the works for over five decades.
Aliero said ongoing construction features a mix of concrete and asphalt pavement with solar-powered street lighting, adding that the highway, when completed, could cut travel time between Sokoto and Lagos by more than 70 per cent—from about 13 hours to roughly six hours.
He urged lawmakers to grant swift approval once the committee submits its findings.
(vitalnewsngr.com)
