Breaking: Tinubu writes Senate, seeks approval for fresh $516m loan

President Bola Tinubu has written to the Senate to seek an approval for a $516,333,007 million loan from a Deutsche bank to fund the execution of Sections 1, Phase 1a and 1b of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway.

The letter was addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during plenary on Thursday.

In the letter, the President stated that the 1,000km flagship project is designed to link Nigeria’s Northwest to the Southwest.

The highway, he said, would run from Illela, Sokoto State, through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, and Ogun, terminating in Badagry, Lagos State.

Tinubu said 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.

He said 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 highlights 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.

Akpabio, who presided over the plenary, referred the letter to the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts for legislative action and a report back in one week.