The House of Representatives has approved a request by President Bola Tinubu to take a foreign loan of $516,333,007 for the construction of parts of the Sokoto-Badagry superhighway.
The approval was given during Tuesday’s plenary session in Abuja.
The decision followed the presentation of a report by Abdullahi Rasheed, who is the deputy chairman of the committee on aids, loans, and debt management. The committee reviewed the request before it was brought before lawmakers for consideration.
The loan is meant to support the development of key sections of the Sokoto-Badagry road project, which is one of the major highway plans of the federal government. Lawmakers backed the request after deliberation during the sitting.
Meanwhile, Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has criticized President Bola Tinubu over his request for Senate approval of a fresh $516 million external loan, cautioning against what he described as reckless borrowing.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Tinubu had written to the Senate, seeking approval to secure a $516.3 million syndicated loan from Deutsche Bank AG.
The loan, backed by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, is intended to fund the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway project.
The President said the Federal Government would also provide counterpart funding of over ₦265.5 billion for land acquisition, compensation, and related infrastructure.
According to Tinubu, the 1,000-kilometre highway will connect Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos states, creating a major economic corridor from Illela to Badagry.