Atiku Criticizes $516M Loan for Sokoto-Badagry Highway

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar criticized President Bola Tinubu's administration on Thursday for seeking Senate approval of a $516 million external loan to fund segments of the proposed Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, a major infrastructure project aimed at linking Nigeria's northwest and southwest regions.

The loan request, formally transmitted to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during plenary, targets financing for key portions of the 1,000-kilometer highway stretching from Illela in Sokoto State through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos states to Badagry. Officials indicated the funds would come from Deutsche Bank to support construction of these interstate connections, which are intended to boost national integration and economic activity.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku acknowledged the project's potential value in connecting underserved areas but warned against what he called reckless borrowing amid Nigeria's escalating debt burden. The country's total public debt stood at 159.28 trillion naira, equivalent to about $110.97 billion, as of the first quarter of this year, according to recent financial reports.