Tinubu seeks Senate approval for $516m Deutsche Bank loan to fund Sokoto-Badagry highway
President Bola Tinubu has requested Senate approval for a $516.3 million loan from Deutsche Bank AG to construct the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, a 1,000-kilometre project linking seven states from Illela to Badagry. The loan includes insurance backing from the Islamic Corporation for Investment and Export Credit.
The highway is a flagship project under Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda, designed to enhance connectivity between Nigeria's north-west and south-west regions and open up a major economic corridor. The federal government will provide counterpart funding of ₦265 billion for land acquisition, compensation, and related infrastructure.
Loan terms specify a nine-year tenure (including up to three years grace period) with interest capped at CME SOFR plus 5.3% annually. This request comes barely a month after lawmakers approved another $6 billion external borrowing plan, raising concerns about Nigeria's rising debt burden which exceeded N87 trillion ($113 billion) as of mid-2023.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, directing them to report back within one week for consideration.