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ABUJA, NIGERIA — By Prime Brief Media
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested the Senate to approve a $516,333,007 million external loan to fund the construction of Sections 1, Phase 1a, and 1b of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, a 1,000-kilometre flagship infrastructure project that aims to connect Nigeria's North-West to its South-West economic corridor .
The request was contained in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during plenary on Thursday, April 23, 2026. According to the President's communication, the proposed financing arrangement comprises a syndicated loan to be secured through Deutsche Bank AG, supported by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, the insurance arm of the Islamic Development Bank .
The Federal Government is to provide counterpart funding in the sum of ₦265,542,689,569, covering land acquisition, compensation, and ancillary infrastructure. The loan is structured with a nine-year tenure, including a grace period of up to three years, and carries an interest rate not exceeding the Chicago Mercantile Exchange SOFR plus 5.3 percent per annum .
Once completed, the superhighway will traverse Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos states, stretching from Illela to Badagry. The President stated that the project is expected to enhance north-south connectivity, improve road safety, reduce logistics costs and travel time, facilitate trade, strengthen food security, and promote national integration by linking production zones to markets and ports .
The Federal Executive Council has already approved the financing arrangement, and the President urged the Senate to grant expeditious consideration to the request .
Senate Response
Following the reading of the President's letter, Senate President Godswill Akpabio referred the request to the Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, chaired by Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, with a directive to report back within one week .
Akpabio defended the borrowing proposal, arguing that borrowing for critical infrastructure is justified where such investments yield long-term economic benefits and can facilitate repayment through generated value. "It is better to borrow for projects," Akpabio stated .
Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero, representing Kebbi Central, lauded the initiative and urged the Senate to approve the request once the committee submits its report. He noted that the project has been in the making for 55 years and estimated that travel time from Sokoto to Lagos would drop by more than 70 percent upon completion, reducing a 13-hour journey to approximately six hours .
Atiku, ADC Condemn Loan Request
The loan request has triggered sharp reactions from opposition figures. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, cautioned against what he described as reckless borrowing without transparency .
"At a time when Nigeria is already groaning under the weight of unsustainable debt, the resort to yet another foreign loan without transparent terms, clear cost-benefit analysis, and a credible repayment framework raises profound questions about prudence and accountability," Atiku stated .
The former vice president stressed that the issue should not be framed as a regional debate. "The people of Northern Nigeria, like their counterparts across the country, deserve development that is sustainable, transparent, and not mortgaged against their future," he said .
Atiku also raised concerns over reports that the highway project was awarded to Hitech Construction Company Limited, owned by the Chagoury Group, without a competitive bidding process. He drew parallels to earlier controversies surrounding the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. "Public infrastructure cannot become a private bazaar for cronies and connected interests. Every kobo borrowed in the name of the Nigerian people must be matched with transparency and accountability," he warned .
The African Democratic Congress Legislators' Forum also weighed in, with Chairman Uko Nkole describing the request as troubling and warning that Nigeria's debt profile already poses significant risks to fiscal sustainability. The forum called on the National Assembly to subject the loan request to rigorous scrutiny and demand a detailed cost-benefit analysis before granting approval .
Atiku concluded his statement with a stark warning: "Nigeria must build, but Nigeria must not borrow blindly. Progress anchored on opacity and debt accumulation is neither progress nor leadership it is postponement of crisis" .
Prime Brief Media will continue to monitor legislative proceedings and provide updates as the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts deliberates on the request.
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