President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested the approval of the Nigerian Senate for a $516.3 million external loan to support the development of the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway project.
The request was conveyed in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during plenary on Thursday.
According to the President, the proposed highway is a 1,000-kilometre flagship infrastructure project aimed at linking Nigeria’s North-West to the South-West.
The road corridor is expected to run from Illela in Sokoto State through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, and Ogun States, terminating in Badagry, Lagos State.
The loan will specifically fund Sections 1, Phase 1a and 1b of the project, covering about 120 kilometres.
Tinubu explained that the funding would be sourced through 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.
He added that the Federal Government would also provide counterpart funding exceeding ₦265.5 billion to cover land acquisition, compensation, and supporting infrastructure.
The loan is structured with a nine-year tenure, including a grace period of up to three years, and an interest rate pegged at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange SOFR plus 5.3 percent annually.
The President noted that the Federal Executive Council had already approved the financing arrangement and requested its inclusion in the national borrowing plan.
He said the project is expected to enhance connectivity, improve road safety, and significantly reduce transportation and logistics costs across the corridor.
Tinubu also highlighted its potential to boost trade, strengthen food security, and promote national integration by linking key production hubs to markets and ports, while accommodating future rail and utility infrastructure.
Following the presentation, Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debts, directing it to report back within one week.
Reacting to the development, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero described the project as long overdue, expressing satisfaction with the level of progress already recorded.
He added that upon completion, the highway could significantly reduce travel time between Sokoto and Lagos; from about 13 hours to approximately six hours; marking a major improvement in national mobility.
