President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested Senate approval for a $516,333,007 loan from Deutsche Bank AG to fund the construction of Sections 1, Phase 1a, and 1b of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway.
In a letter read during Thursday’s plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the President described the 1,000km flagship project as a strategic link between Nigeria’s Northwest and Southwest. The route will run from Illela in Sokoto State through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, and Ogun, terminating in Badagry, Lagos State.
The loan will cover a 120km stretch of the total corridor. The financing arrangement, backed by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), also requires counterpart funding of ₦265,542,689,569 from the Federal Government for land acquisition, compensation, and ancillary infrastructure.
The facility carries a nine-year tenor, including a three-year grace period, with an interest rate not exceeding the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) SOFR plus 5.3% per annum.
President Tinubu noted that the Federal Executive Council has already approved the plan and urged the Senate to incorporate the loan into the national borrowing framework. The superhighway is expected to improve north-south connectivity, reduce logistics costs, and enhance safety. It is also designed to boost trade, food security, and national cohesion by linking production zones to markets and ports, with a central median reserved for future rail integration and utility corridors.
Senate President Akpabio referred the request to the Committee on Foreign and Local Debts, which is expected to report back within one week.
Supporting the initiative, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) said the project had been in development for 55 years. Having inspected the works, which include concrete and asphalt roads fitted with solar streetlights, he expressed strong approval. He estimated that travel time from Sokoto to Lagos would be reduced by more than 70%, from 13 hours to approximately six hours, and urged the Senate to grant swift approval once the committee submits its report.
