Nigerian politician and Niger State Executive Governor Abubakar Sani Bello has secured a $86.64-million loan from the Islamic Development Bank for infrastructural development in Niger State, Nigeria.
The funds will be used for constructing and upgrading the Minna-Bida Road, an 82-kilometer stretch of road, which will be handled by the Dantata and Sawoe Company.
The Islamic Development Bank is a multilateral development finance institution focused on Islamic finance. It is located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. With 57 shareholding member states, Saudi Arabia is its largest single shareholder.
The funds were approved on the sidelines of the Islamic Development Bank’s Group Board of Governors 2021 Annual General Meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The project will contribute to the state’s socioeconomic development by establishing a safe and efficient road network within Niger and among states in Nigeria’s northern and southwestern regions.
Earlier this month, the governor reported the deplorable state of the road to President Muhammadu Buhari, while emphasizing the need for urgency as numerous sections are failing due to rainfall. Bello added that the state was “going through hell” as a result.
To that end, the state was forced to close the road after complaints that heavy-duty trucks were blocking movement in the area.
In a statement to the press, Bello said two failed sections of the Minna-Bida Road and one failed section of the Minna-Tekna Road had led to the former road’s blockage. He requested the president to intervene swiftly to ease the difficulties facing motorists.
Bello is the son of Colonel Sani Bello (Rtd), an elder Nigerian statesman whose interests span the oil, telecom and electricity sectors. His father was the military governor of Kano State between 1975 and 1978 and the founder of the Sani Bello Foundation.
