By Kingston Magare 23.4.2026
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday wrote to the Nigerian Senate to seek approval for a $516.3 million loan to fund a section of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway.
This is the third time this year Tinubu would be writing the Senate requesting for approval to borrow to fund projects.
Senate president Godswill Akpabio read out the letter during Thursday’s plenary. President Tinubu explained in the letter that the 1,000-kilometre flagship highway is designed to link Nigeria’s North-West to the South-West.
According to the proposal, the highway will run from Illela in Sokoto State through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, and Ogun, terminating in Badagry, Lagos State.
The loan will only cover Sections 1, Phase 1a and 1b, covering 120km of the total corridor.
Tinubu explained that the funding arrangement involves a syndicated loan from Deutsche Bank AG, backed by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit.
He added that the Federal Government would provide counterpart funding of over ₦265.5 billion for land acquisition, compensation, and related infrastructure.
The proposed 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 annually.
Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debts, directing it to report back within one week.