The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved President Bola Tinubu’s $516.3 million syndicated loan from Deutsche Bank AG to fund Section 1 (Phase 1A and 1B) of the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway project.
This decision came after lawmakers adopted the report presented by the House Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management during plenary.
While presenting the report, the Committee’s Chairman, Abubakar Hassan Nalaraba, appealed to his colleagues to support the funding request for the 120-kilometre portion of the highway.
Earlier in the session, Abdullahi El-Rashid, a committee member representing Dukku/Nafada Federal Constituency in Gombe State, moved a motion for the report’s consideration, stressing the road’s critical role in enhancing national economic integration.
The motion received backing from Bello Isah Ambarura, who represents Illela/Gwadabawa Federal Constituency in Sokoto State.
The House then resolved into the Committee of Supply, where members examined and approved the recommendations one clause at a time before returning to plenary for final endorsement.
All five recommendations were subsequently adopted, including approval of the loan facility and its incorporation into the federal government’s rolling borrowing plan.
Lawmakers also ratified the proposed financing arrangement, which includes a partial guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, a nine-year repayment period with a moratorium of up to three years, and an interest rate tied to CME SOFR plus 5.35 per cent annually.
As part of measures to ensure accountability, the House directed strict legislative oversight, requiring quarterly reports from the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Debt Management Office, and the Federal Ministry of Works on both project execution and fund disbursement.
In addition, lawmakers instructed that all finalised financing agreements be submitted to the National Assembly within 30 days after financial closure, along with continuous supervision by relevant committees.
To promote transparency and ensure value for money, provisions were approved for competitive procurement, independent technical and financial audits, and regular assessments of project milestones.
The approval followed an earlier request by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who wrote to the National Assembly in April 2026 seeking approval for the external borrowing.
In his request, the President had explained that the loan would finance Sections 1, Phase 1A and 1B of the superhighway, part of a larger 1,000-kilometre route linking the North-West to the South-West, running from Sokoto through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, and Ogun states to Badagry in Lagos.
The proposed loan forms part of the federal government’s medium-term borrowing strategy, featuring a nine-year tenure, a grace period of up to three years, and backing from international credit guarantee institutions.
Juliet Akoje
