{"id":11138,"date":"2026-04-24T03:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T03:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/?p=11138"},"modified":"2026-04-24T03:42:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T03:42:22","slug":"tinubu-seeks-senate-approval-for-fresh-516-million-loan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/2026\/04\/24\/tinubu-seeks-senate-approval-for-fresh-516-million-loan\/","title":{"rendered":"Tinubu Seeks Senate Approval For Fresh $516 Million Loan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President\u00a0Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sought the Senate\u2019s approval for a $516.3 million loan to fund part of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway project.<\/p>\n

Beadysword blog <\/strong>reports that the request was conveyed in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during Thursday\u2019s plenary.<\/p>\n

The President said the project is a 1,000-kilometre flagship highway designed to link Nigeria\u2019s North-West to the South-West.<\/p>\n

According to the proposal, the highway will run from Illela in Sokoto State through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, and Ogun, terminating in Badagry, Lagos State.<\/p>\n

The loan will specifically fund Sections 1, Phase 1a and 1b, covering 120 kilometres of the total corridor.<\/p>\n

Tinubu explained that the funding arrangement involves a syndicated loan from Deutsche Bank AG, backed by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit.<\/p>\n

He added that the Federal Government would provide counterpart funding of over \u20a6265.5 billion for land acquisition, compensation, and related infrastructure.<\/p>\n

The proposed loan has a tenure of nine years, including a grace period of up to three years, with an interest rate pegged at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange SOFR plus 5.3 per cent annually.<\/p>\n

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The President noted that the Federal Executive Council had already approved the arrangement and requested its inclusion in the national borrowing plan.<\/p>\n

Tinubu said the project would enhance connectivity, improve safety, and reduce logistics costs.<\/p>\n

He added that it would boost trade, food security, and national cohesion by linking production zones to markets and ports, while also providing for future rail and utility corridors.<\/p>\n

Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debts, directing it to report back within one week.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the development, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero described the project as long overdue.<\/p>\n

He said,\u00a0\u201cThis project has been on the ground for the last 55 years. I have inspected the project, and I have seen the progress made. I am highly impressed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Aliero noted that construction includes both concrete and asphalt roads with solar streetlights.<\/p>\n

He added that travel time from Sokoto to Lagos could drop significantly upon completion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will reduce a 13-hour journey to approximately six hours,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n

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