By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally requested Senate approval for a loan facility totaling $516,333,007 from Deutsche Bank AG to finance the construction of Sections 1, Phase 1a, and 1b of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway.

In a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read during Thursday’s plenary session, the President described the 1,000-kilometer flagship project as a strategic corridor designed to link Nigeria’s Northwest to the Southwest. The highway will run from Illela in Sokoto State, passing through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, and Ogun, and terminate in Badagry, Lagos State.

According to the letter, the loan will specifically cover 120 kilometers of the total route. The financing arrangement is structured as a syndicated loan secured through Deutsche Bank, 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.

President Tinubu noted that the Federal Government will provide counterpart funding of ₦265,542,689,569 to cover land acquisition, compensation, and ancillary infrastructure. The loan carries a nine-year tenor, including a three-year grace period, with an interest rate not exceeding the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) SOFR plus 5.3 percent per annum.

The President confirmed that the Federal Executive Council has already approved the financing arrangement and urged the Senate to incorporate the loan into the national borrowing plan. The letter emphasized that the superhighway will improve north-south connectivity, enhance road safety, reduce logistics costs, strengthen trade and food security, and support national cohesion by linking production zones to markets and ports. The central median is also being reserved for future rail integration and utility corridors.

Senate President Akpabio referred the request to the Committee on Foreign and Local Debts, which is expected to report back within one week.

Speaking in support of the project, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) described it as a long-overdue initiative, noting that it has been in development for 55 years. “I have inspected the project and I have seen the progress made. I am highly impressed,” Aliero said.

He confirmed that ongoing work includes both concrete and asphalt roads fitted with solar streetlights, and estimated that travel time from Sokoto to Lagos would drop by more than 70 percent — from 13 hours to approximately six hours — upon completion. He urged the Senate to grant expeditious approval once the committee submits its report.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, on Thursday said he is now a “freelance politician” with no direct ties to any political party.

Mohammed made the remark while hosting a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, and stakeholders from the South-East in Bauchi.

The governor said the meeting centred on national unity and collaboration, noting that the discussions were not driven by partisan interests.

“Neither PDP nor ADC is standing alone. I am a freelance politician now, and his party is also in limbo. We are looking up to the judiciary.

“Certainly, we are all in the opposition, and that is why I say this is a political discussion. We will not disclose everything we have discussed in terms of the ‘I’s and ‘t’s we have crossed,” he said.

He added that ongoing engagements among political actors were focused on possible realignment and cooperation ahead of future elections.

“We cannot operate without a platform. At the end of the day, the current political situation may even help unify us and strengthen our chances of winning elections,” he added.

Mohammed described Obi’s visit as symbolic, saying it reflected efforts to build bridges across regions.

“He is talking about unifying the country, building bridges, and creating a new tomorrow for Nigeria. This is what we stand for as a state and as a people. We feel highly honoured by this visit,” Mohammed said.

Speaking earlier, Obi said the visit was aimed at fostering unity and strengthening collaboration across the country.

“My purpose is to solicit support and cooperation among stakeholders, particularly from the Bauchi state, in our quest to unite this country,” Obi said.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The DSS Arraigns El-Rufai over Ribadu’s Phone Interception Claim of State Services has arraigned former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over allegations of unlawfully accessing a telephone conversation involving the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

El-Rufai, who had served as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, is being prosecuted on an amended five-count charge before a Federal High Court in Abuja.

At the commencement of proceedings presided by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, on Thursday, the prosecution informed the court that the charges had been increased from three to five counts.

When the case was called, DSS lawyer, Oluwole Aladedoye, SAN, informed the court that the matter was fixed for the defendant to take his plea.

Aladedoye, however, told the court that a further amended five-count charge was filed on April 13.

The lawyer prayed the court to substitute it with the earlier three-count charge.

“We pray that the earlier charge be struck out, my lord,” he said.

Responding, El-Rufai’s counsel, Oluwole Iyamu, SAN, said he had been served with the amended charge and that he was not opposing.