President Bola Tinubu urged states to work with the federal government to harmonize building approvals and announced additional funding will be allocated to infrastructure development.
Major roads and bridges across the nation will be made easier with proper approval alignment between the federal and subnational governments, according to the president, who on Thursday in Lagos officially opened the Lekki Deep Sea Port Access Road at the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Plant.
The President declared, “I have instructed the Surveyor General of the Federation and the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to collaborate more closely with the governors.”
According to President Tinubu, the burden of compensation and delays in implementing people-oriented initiatives will be lessened if state approvals are in line with federal approvals.
My dear governors, please, let’s cooperate. Never grant planning permissions without consulting the Ministry of Works and the Surveyor General. I’m pleading with you to achieve the same development objective.
Let me stress that the Federal Government of Nigeria has prohibited any dredging within ten kilometers of any of our bridges across the country. President Tinubu urged all governors, pertinent authorities, and security agencies to put this prohibition into effect right away.
Five days prior, in Lagos, the President had officially opened Phase 1 of Section One of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
He praised the Federal Ministry of Works, BUA, Messrs. Dangote Industries Limited, Hitech Construction Company Limited, and all other contractors working on the nation’s road construction. According to him, his administration is dedicated to constructing long-lasting infrastructure across the country.
He brushed off those who criticized the government’s legacy projects as being uninformed about the process by which the government chose the contractors to build the legacy roads.
It is important to remember that the Federal Executive Council gave its approval for our Legacy Projects to be awarded, purchased, and built in phases. Contrary to what some have claimed, the finished 30-kilometer section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a component of the 47.7-kilometer, six-lane Section I contract, not a wholesale 750-kilometer deal. The complete corridor has not been given to any contractor.
“We have taken a methodical, open, and segmented approach. Another legacy project we have resurrected is the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, which was envisioned 47 years ago during the Shagari regime. There is enormous potential for trade, industry, and agriculture in this corridor, which runs through Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos.
It offers enormous potential for windmill energy generation and links more than 58 dams, expansive farmlands, and trade routes to our neighbors in West Africa. The construction process is well along. We have already finished more than 10 kilometers of the 258-kilometer three-lane highway in Kebbi, and we are flagging off the second carriageway today. Out of all our Legacy Projects, this is the longest portion.
In Sokoto, construction has started on the 120-kilometer, three-lane, two-carriageway from Illela. I am aware that more than ten kilometers of this project have already been finished. We will be marking off the 120-kilometer, three-lane second highway today.
Additionally, the work in this section is advanced. Along the whole Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, more sections are being designed for award and procurement. I saw a lot of development at Section II of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway on the way here; more than 10 km of the 55 km section had already been finished.
Additionally, I am happy to announce that construction is still underway in the Cross River and Akwa Ibom portions, and I have ordered the design and acquisition of additional segments. Another ambitious project, the Trans-Sahara Trade Route, is making steady progress. Through Ebonyi, Benue, Kogi, and Nasarawa, it will link Calabar and Abuja,” he stated.
In order to facilitate the commencement of procurement, President Tinubu said that he has ordered accelerated design for the 4th Legacy Project of the Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi and Gombe corridor.
“I want to reassure you that, with God’s help, we will finish these projects and use them to boost our country’s economy.”
Yakasai to Zalli Road in Kano State (CCECC), Shendam Bridge in Plateau State (Triacta), Kwanar-Hadejia Section II (82km) in Kano/Jigawa States (CCECC), Jimeta Bridge in Adamawa State (Triacta), Ilobu-Erinle Road in Kwara/Osun States (IAC), and Cham-Numan Bridge in Adamawa State (CGC) are among the other projects the President has commissioned.
Section I Phase IB of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, which is 120 km long in Sokoto State; Section II Phase 2 B, which is 258 km long in Kebbi State; the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway (Section II), which is 55 km long in Lagos and stretches to the Ogun State border; the rehabilitation of Zaria-Hunkuyi to Daya Road (Sections I, II, and III) in Kaduna/Kano States; and the reconstruction of Dikwa-Gamoru-Ngala Road, which is 49.55 km long, in Borno State.
Also marked off were the completion of the dualization of the Kano-Maiduguri Road, which connects the states of Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Yobe, and Borno; the construction of the Maiduguri Ring Road, which is 108 km long; the construction of the Kano Northern Bypass Road, which is 74 km long; the construction of the 7th Axial Road, which is 25 km long and 6-lane, from Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos State to Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State; and the completion of the Lokoja-Benin road’s rehabilitation on rigid pavement.
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Other highways include the 104-kilometer Oyo—Ogbomoso Road dualization in Oyo State; the 264-kilometer Kano—Daura—Kongolam dualization in Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina States – BUA Tax Credit; and the 49.15-kilometer Bama–Banki Road repair in Borno State – Dangote Tax Credit.
The President expressed gratitude to Jim Ovia, Femi Otedola, Abdulsamad Rabiu, and Aliko Dangote—the “four wise men of the private sector”—for their contributions to Nigeria’s economy. Additionally, he praised Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Roland and Gilbert Chagoury, and the Minister of Works.
The event was attended by the governors of the states of Plateau, Abia, Enugu, Ogun, Borno, and Kaduna.
Sen. Uba Sani, the governor of Kaduna State, spoke on behalf of the governors and praised the president for eliminating the subsidy, which resulted in higher state funding for infrastructure, education, and health.
Sani gave the president his word that the subnational team will work together to upgrade the country’s infrastructure.
President Tinubu expressed gratitude to Alhaji Aliko Dangote for his commitment to the nation’s ongoing development through investments.
“I want to thank Aliko Dangote after inspecting the Dangote refinery, which is a great point of reference, a great phenomenon of our time, and a massive investment,” he said. “I am delighted that the Deep Sea Port, which I started while serving as Lagos State’s governor, is a great success today. Because they don’t have to transship their goods, users save a ton of money by using this port. I applaud the caliber of the access road completed by Messrs. Dangote Industries Limited and Messrs. Hitech Construction Company Limited, our subcontractor for the Tax Credit Road program.
Aliko Dangote, the president of the Dangote Group, told the president that the private sector will assist the expansion of infrastructure across the country and praised him for conceiving and carrying out the Lekki Deep Sea Port project.
