Senate Scrutinises $516m Deutsche Bank Loan For 1,000-km Highway
President Bola Tinubu has formally approached the Senate for authorisation to secure a $516,333,070 syndicated loan from Deutsche Bank AG, a facility intended to bankroll the initial sections of the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway. The request, contained in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during Thursday’s plenary, marks the administration’s latest push to fund the 1,000-kilometre corridor stretching from Illela in Sokoto State to Badagry in Lagos State.
In the communication, Tinubu explained that the financing would cover Sections 1, Phase 1a and 1b of the superhighway, a span of roughly 120 kilometres. “Approval is sought for the syndicated financing facility from Deutsche Bank for the execution of Sections 1, 1A and 1B… and the inclusion of the said financing in the Federal Government’s borrowing plan,” the letter stated. The loan is structured as a syndicated facility 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. The Federal Government is to provide counterpart funding of ₦265,542,689,569 for land acquisition, compensation and ancillary infrastructure. The facility carries a nine-year tenor with a grace period of up to three years and an interest rate not exceeding the Chicago Mercantile Exchange SOFR plus 5.3 percent per annum.
Beyond the financial architecture, the President detailed the highway’s projected developmental impact. “The project is designed to open up Nigeria’s north-west–south-west 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,” he wrote. Tinubu added that the road is expected to enhance north–south connectivity and road safety, reduce logistics costs and travel time, facilitate trade and food security, and promote national integration by linking production zones to markets and ports, while reserving a central median for future rail integration and utility corridors.
Reacting to the request, Senate President Godswill Akpabio quickly referred the matter to the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, chaired by Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, directing the panel to report back in one week.Akpabio endorsed the principle of borrowing for infrastructure, noting, “It is better to borrow for projects.”
During the brief deliberations, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) hailed the initiative, describing the project as one that had been on the drawing board for over fifty years. “This project has been on the ground for the last 55 years,” Aliero said. “I have inspected the project and I have seen the progress made. I am highly impressed.” He noted that ongoing construction features both concrete and asphalt pavements fitted with solar streetlights and that travel time between Sokoto and Lagos could shrink from the current 13 hours to approximately six hours upon completion. He urged expeditious approval.
The Federal Executive Council had already endorsed the financing arrangement, and Tinubu requested the Senate to include the facility in the national borrowing plan earlier approved by the National Assembly. The superhighway is a pillar of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, designed to unlock economic corridors, boost trade and enhance national cohesion.