President Bola Tinubu has formally requested the National Assembly to approve a $516.3 million credit facility from Deutsche Bank to fund the first sections of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway.
The executive proposal, presented during Thursday’s plenary, seeks to finance Sections 1, 1A, and 1B of the 1,000-kilometre corridor designed to link Nigeria’s agrarian North-West to South-Western industrial hubs.
According to the presidency, the syndicated loan arrangement includes insurance backing from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit to ensure favorable concessionary terms.
The project is a flagship initiative of the “Renewed Hope” agenda, aiming to integrate the Illela border post with Lagos ports to reduce logistics costs and boost regional trade.
Economic observers noted the request follows the recent departure of Finance Minister Wale Edun, surfacing amidst an oil price windfall that has seen Brent crude trade above $102 per barrel.
While the administration emphasizes the highway’s role in food security and job creation, opposition leaders have warned against “blind borrowing” as the national debt stock nears N195 trillion.
The Senate has referred the request to the Committee on Aids, Loans, and Debt Management for expedited review to maintain the project’s 2026 construction timelines and cost efficiency.
Once completed, the high-capacity dual carriageway will traverse seven states, providing a critical alternative route to the traditional North-South corridors and improving overall national road safety performance.
The $516 million facility is already captured within the government’s 2026 external borrowing plan, which lawmakers previously approved to bridge the country’s significant infrastructure deficit.
