President Bola Tinubu has pledged to channel more funds into Nigeria’s infrastructure development, urging state governors to align planning approvals with federal standards to fast-track road and bridge projects nationwide.
Speaking during the inauguration of the Lekki Deep Sea Port Access Road at the Dangote Refinery in Lagos on Thursday, the President emphasized the need for collaboration between subnational governments and federal agencies. He revealed he had directed the Minister of Works, David Umahi, and the Surveyor General of the Federation to engage more closely with state governments.
“Please, my dear governors, let’s work together,” Tinubu said. “Don’t give planning approvals without collaboration with the Surveyor General and the Ministry of Works. I am appealing to you to realise the same development goal.”
He also reinforced the Federal Government’s ban on dredging within a 10km radius of any bridge across Nigeria, calling on governors, security agencies, and relevant institutions to enforce the measure immediately.
The President’s comments come just days after he inaugurated Phase 1, Section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. He reiterated his administration’s commitment to legacy infrastructure and dismissed criticism of project awards, clarifying that the federal government had adopted a section-by-section approach to procurement.
“The completed 30km segment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is part of the 47.7km, six-lane Section 1 contract—not a wholesale 750km contract, as some have suggested,” he said.
Tinubu also spotlighted the revival of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, first conceived in the 1970s under President Shehu Shagari. The massive corridor runs through Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos, connecting agricultural zones, trade routes, and over 58 dams. The project, he noted, holds potential for windmill energy and cross-border trade with West Africa.
He reported that in Kebbi State, over 10km of the 258km three-lane highway had been completed and that a second carriageway was being flagged off. Similarly, in Sokoto, work on a 120km section was already underway.
“On my way here, I witnessed significant progress at Section II of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, with over 10km of the 55km stretch already completed,” Tinubu added. He noted that construction was also progressing in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States, with instructions given for additional sections to be designed and procured.
He also highlighted the advancement of the Trans-Sahara Trade Route, which will link Calabar to Abuja via Ebonyi, Benue, Kogi, and Nasarawa. Additionally, the President announced accelerated design work for the fourth legacy project: the Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe corridor.
“Let me assure you that with God on our side, we shall complete these projects and deploy them for the economic benefit of our nation,” Tinubu said.
Other projects virtually inaugurated by the President include the Yakasai-Zalli Road in Kano State, Shendam Bridge in Plateau, Kwanar-Hadejia Road in Kano and Jigawa, Jimeta Bridge in Adamawa, Ilobu-Erinle Road in Kwara/Osun, and the Cham-Numan Bridge also in Adamawa State.
