President Bola Tinubu has requested the Senate to approve a $516.33 million syndicated loan from Deutsche Bank to kickstart the first phase of the 1,000km Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway, a flagship project under his Renewed Hope Agenda.

The request, read on the Senate floor by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, seeks lawmakers’ approval under Sections 16 and 21 of the Debt Management Office Act to lock in the foreign financing and insert it into the Federal Government’s borrowing plan.

Specifically, Tinubu wants approval for a $516,333,007 syndicated facility arranged by Deutsche Bank AG to fund Sections 1, 1A, and 1B of the superhighway, which is approximately 120 kilometres of the planned corridor.

Acvording to the President’s letter, the loan is backed by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), the insurance arm of the Islamic Development Bank.

Tinubu hinted that the Federal Government would inject N265.54 billion in counterpart funding for land acquisition, compensation, and ancillary works.