Tinubu Seeks Senate Approval for $516.3M Highway Loan

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday requested Senate approval for a $516.3 million loan from Deutsche Bank to finance key sections of the proposed Sokoto-Badagry superhighway, a major infrastructure initiative aimed at linking Nigeria's northwest and southwest regions.

The request, detailed in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, was read during the chamber's plenary session. Tinubu explained that the funds would support Sections 1, Phase 1a, and 1b of the project, covering approximately 120 kilometers of the total 1,000-kilometer route. The highway would stretch from Illela in Sokoto State through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, and Ogun states, terminating in Badagry, Lagos State. Officials described the corridor as a flagship component of the administration's Renewed Hope Agenda, intended to enhance national connectivity, reduce travel times between economic hubs, and facilitate the movement of goods and agricultural produce to markets and ports.

The proposed financing, already endorsed by the Federal Executive Council, includes a syndicated loan arranged through Deutsche Bank, backed by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of...