Reps Approve Tinubu’s $516.3m Loan Request

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a $516.3 million syndicated loan from Deutsche Bank AG to finance Section 1 (Phase 1A and 1B) of the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway project.

The approval followed the adoption of the report of the House Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management during plenary.

Presenting the report, the committee chairman, Abubakar Hassan Nalaraba, urged lawmakers to endorse the financing request for the 120-kilometre stretch of the project.

Earlier, a member of the committee, Abdullahi El-Rashid, who represents Dukku/Nafada Federal Constituency in Gombe State, moved the motion for consideration of the report, highlighting the strategic importance of the road to national economic integration.

The motion was seconded by Bello Isah Ambarura, representing Illela/Gwadabawa Federal Constituency of Sokoto State.

The House subsequently dissolved into the Committee of Supply, where lawmakers considered and approved the committee’s recommendations clause-by-clause before reverting to plenary for final adoption.

The lawmakers approved all five recommendations, including the loan facility and its inclusion in the Federal Government’s rolling borrowing plan.

They also endorsed the financing structure, which features a partial guarantee by the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, a nine-year tenor with up to three years’ moratorium, and an interest rate benchmarked at CME SOFR plus 5.35 per cent per annum.

As part of accountability measures, the House mandated strict legislative oversight, including quarterly reports from the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Debt Management Office, and the Federal Ministry of Works on project implementation and disbursement.

Lawmakers further directed that all executed financing agreements be submitted to the National Assembly within 30 days of financial close, alongside continuous monitoring by relevant committees.

To ensure transparency and value for money, provisions were also approved for competitive procurement processes, independent technical and financial audits, and periodic evaluation of project milestones.

The approval follows an earlier request by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who, in April 2026, wrote to the National Assembly seeking legislative backing for the external loan.

In the request, the President said the facility would fund Sections 1, Phase 1A and 1B of the highway, part of a broader 1,000-kilometre corridor linking Nigeria’s North-West to the South-West, stretching from Sokoto through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo and Ogun states to Badagry in Lagos.

The proposed financing forms part of the Federal Government’s medium-term borrowing plan, with a nine-year tenor and a grace period of up to three years, supported by credit guarantees from international financial institutions.