Nigerians have taken to social media and public platforms to react to President Bola Tinubu’s request for a $516,333,070 external loan to finance the proposed Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway.
The President is seeking the approval of the Nigerian Senate for the facility, which is expected to be sourced from Deutsche Bank.
This was contained in a letter sent to the Senate on Thursday, April 23, and read during plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
According to the letter, the loan will be used to fund Sections 1, 1A, and 1B of the proposed 1,000-kilometre highway, designed to link Nigeria’s North-West to the South-West corridor.
What the President is saying
In the letter, President Tinubu explained that the project is aimed at unlocking economic activities across multiple states by creating a high-capacity road network connecting Illela to Badagry through key commercial and agricultural hubs.
He also noted that the financing request is part of the Federal Government’s broader borrowing framework already approved by the National Assembly.
- “The inclusion of the said financing in the Federal Government’s borrowing plan, as earlier approved by the National Assembly. The Senate is invited to note that the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway is a flagship infrastructure initiative under the Renewed Hope Agenda,” he said.
The President further stated that the project is expected to improve connectivity, reduce travel time, and strengthen economic integration across regions.
- “It is also expected to enhance north–south connectivity and road safety, improve network performance along the corridor, reduce logistics costs and travel time, facilitate trade and strengthen food security and promote national integration by linking production zones to markets and ports,” he added.
Tinubu urged lawmakers to fast-track consideration of the request.
- “I look forward to the expeditious consideration and approval of this request by the Senate. Please accept, Distinguished Senate President and Distinguished Senators, the assurances of my highest regards,” he said.
How Nigerians are reacting
The loan request has generated mixed reactions, with concerns over Nigeria’s rising debt profile dominating public discourse.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in a statement issued by his aide Phrank Shaibu, questioned the government’s fiscal discipline.
- “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.
Speaking on Channels Television, Seun Onigbinde, CEO of BudgIT, warned about the risks associated with poorly structured borrowing.
- “A poorly taken loan is even more dangerous than wasting public revenue,” he said.
Onigbinde also raised concerns about the level of legislative scrutiny applied to the request.
- “The first worry is the scrutiny in terms of the process that the Senate has applied to this loan request before we even look at the propriety of the loan request,” he added, stressing that weak procurement processes could undermine the benefits of such borrowing.
Reactions on X have also been varied. While some users noted that the loan forms part of an already approved borrowing plan, others questioned its economic viability.
One user, @Malc_OE, pointed out that the request aligns with an existing borrowing framework, while another, Speller P, expressed doubts about repayment.
- “The refinery they borrowed to fix, how many of it is working now? So road is the infrastructure they want to use to repay the loan they are borrowing,” Speller P wrote.
Similarly, InsightbyTee questioned the tangible impact of government borrowing, asking whether citizens are seeing measurable benefits.
- “With the amount of borrowing under this administration, where are the tangible benefits for citizens?,” InsightbyTee asked.
However, not all reactions were critical. A user, Hassan Muhammad, defended the move, arguing that the President understands how to deploy debt effectively.
- “President Tinubu clearly understands how to borrow for development and how to manage debt effectively,” Muhammad wrote.
Another user, Abefe, supported the loan on the basis that it targets capital infrastructure, noting that the project could generate returns if properly executed.
- “What I’m more concerned about is whether the super highway will generate greater returns than the borrowing, and yes, by my metrics it will,” Abefe said.
Meanwhile, another user, @ZorrobankzC, suggested that opting for a commercial lender instead of multilateral institutions may reduce transparency.
- “The real hidden cost of this loan is the shift from multilateral lenders like the World Bank to private commercial banks like Deutsche Bank, a move designed to avoid the transparency and conditions that usually come with development funding,” he wrote.
The opposition African Democratic Congress also criticised the request, describing it as part of a pattern of excessive borrowing.
- “This request is not only alarming but emblematic of an administration that has made reckless borrowing its default economic policy, with little regard for sustainability, accountability, or the wellbeing of future generations,” the party said in a statement signed by Uko Ndukwe Nkole.
However, Senate President Akpabio defended the proposal during plenary, stating that borrowing for infrastructure can support economic growth and repayment capacity.
- “It is better to borrow for projects and infrastructure so that, at the end of the day, we can repay through the infrastructure,” he said.
What you should know
Nigeria’s rising debt profile has continued to attract scrutiny from analysts and stakeholders.
According to data from the Debt Management Office, total debt service rose to about N16 trillion in 2025, representing an increase of N2.98 trillion or 22.9% from the N13.02 trillion recorded in 2024.
A breakdown shows that Federal Government bonds accounted for about N5.35 trillion, representing roughly 65% of total domestic interest payments.
On the external side, debt service stood at $5.15 billion in 2025, accounting for 46.2% of total debt servicing. While domestic debt remains dominant, external obligations continue to pose significant fiscal pressures.
