President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve a $516,333,007 loan facility from Deutsche Bank to support the construction of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway.
In a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during plenary on Thursday, the President said the 1,000-kilometre flagship road project is intended to connect Nigeria’s Northwest to the Southwest.
The highway is expected to begin from Illela in Sokoto State and pass through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo and Ogun states before terminating in Badagry, Lagos State.
According to the letter, the proposed loan will finance Sections 1, Phase 1a and 1b, covering 120 kilometres of the total 1,000-kilometre corridor.
Tinubu explained that the financing package consists of a syndicated loan to be arranged through Deutsche Bank AG, backed 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.
He stated that the federal government would provide counterpart funding of N265,542,689,569 for land acquisition, compensation and related infrastructure.
The loan is structured for nine years, including a grace period of up to three years, with an interest rate not exceeding the Chicago Mercantile Exchange SOFR plus 5.3 per cent annually.
The President noted that the Federal Executive Council had already approved the arrangement and requested that the facility be included in the national borrowing plan.
He said the superhighway would improve North-South connectivity, enhance road safety and lower logistics costs.
The project is also expected to boost trade, support food security and strengthen national cohesion by linking production zones to markets and ports. The central median is also being reserved for future rail integration and utility corridors.
Akpabio referred the request to the Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debts, which is expected to report back within one week.
Speaking during deliberations, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero of Kebbi Central praised the initiative, saying the project had been under consideration for 55 years.
“I have inspected the project, and I have seen the progress made. I am highly impressed,” he said.
Aliero added that ongoing construction includes both concrete and asphalt carriageways fitted with solar streetlights.
He estimated that travel time between Sokoto and Lagos would reduce by more than 70 per cent after completion, cutting the current 13-hour trip to about six hours.
The Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, like the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, is being handled by Hitech Construction Company, owned by the Chagoury Group.
The award of both projects has generated controversy, with critics questioning the procurement process and the absence of open competitive bidding.
Analysts say the fresh borrowing request would further increase Nigeria’s public debt profile, estimated at over N152 trillion.
Professor of Economics Ndubisi Nwokoma criticised the move, describing it as “fiscal rascality.”
According to him, the government should prioritise the rehabilitation of existing roads before embarking on new mega projects.
“I recently travelled to the East, and the roads are in terrible condition. Why not focus on maintaining them? Even if we must borrow, Nigerians should see tangible improvements in major expressways. If that happens, people will not complain as much,” he said.
He described some of the new projects as “white elephants,” insisting that functional infrastructure should come before new construction.
“Why not fix what we have before embarking on new roads? The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, for instance, is essentially a Lagos project. People are being misled to believe it is coastal. When will it even reach Calabar—after 100 years? It appears more like a route to link Eko Atlantic. There was no transparent tendering process. This points to fiscal recklessness,” he added.
Nwokoma also expressed concern over Nigeria’s rising debt burden and questioned whether increased state allocations after subsidy removal had translated into visible development.
“We are borrowing excessively, yet the benefits are not evident. Beyond a few states, there is little to show. The scale of borrowing under Bola Ahmed Tinubu within three years is alarming,” he said.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also faulted the proposed borrowing.
In a statement issued by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said infrastructure development linking the Northwest and Southwest is desirable, but warned against irresponsible financing.
“Indeed, no region of Nigeria should be left behind in the march toward national integration and economic expansion. However, noble intentions cannot excuse reckless fiscal choices,” he said.
“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.”
He said the matter should not be viewed through a regional lens.
“What Nigerians expect is not just ambitious projects, but responsible financing. Development must not become a euphemism for deepening debt traps that generations yet unborn will be forced to repay,” he added.
Atiku further questioned reports that the contract was awarded to Hitech Construction Company Limited without a transparent competitive process.
He described it as a continuation of the pattern seen in the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.
He said the Sokoto-Badagry project must not become another case of favouritism or insider contracting and urged the National Assembly to subject the request to thorough scrutiny.
The African Democratic Congress Legislators’ Forum also opposed the loan request.
In a statement signed by its chairman, Uko Ndukwe Nkole, the forum described the move as alarming and accused the administration of reckless borrowing without sufficient regard for future generations.
While acknowledging the need for infrastructure, the lawmakers questioned the absence of a clear repayment plan.
They warned that Nigeria’s debt servicing obligations are already consuming a major share of national revenue.
“Rather than address this reality with discipline, the administration continues to deepen the country’s exposure to debt, raising concerns about long-term economic stability,” the statement said.
The group also questioned the timing of the request as the country moves closer to another election cycle and urged lawmakers to carefully examine the proposal.
It called on the Senate to demand full disclosure of project costs, procurement procedures and repayment terms.
The forum further urged the federal government to prioritise economic growth, job creation and stronger revenue generation, stressing that borrowing should not replace fiscal discipline and accountability.
