Umahi: Tinubu Not Responsible for Nigeria’s Road Deficit

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has visited the portion of the Kano-Maiduguri road recently damaged by heavy flooding, stressing that Nigeria’s deficit of good roads was not caused by the Bola Tinubu administration.

Umahi also said the Federal Ministry of Works had designed the fourth road infrastructure legacy project that passes through states of the North-east known as the Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe road.

Umahi made the disclosure during a courtesy visit to the Governor of Bauchi state, Bala Mohammed, at the State Government  House, Bauchi.

He said: “I want to thank you very highly, and to let you know that the shortfall in terms of road distribution was not done by President Bola Tinubu, it wasn’t done by me, but Mr. President is addressing it, and that’s why we have injected the fourth legacy project of the President that runs from Akwanga to Jos to Bauchi State, and we are happy to see that you have intervened progressively and critically on a good percentage  of the road in your state.”

The minister emphasised the importance of the four projects which he said were not only strategic in terms of seamless connectivity to the six geo-political zones, but also a strategic architectural master plan that would stimulate the economy of the nation through enhanced agriculture, job creation, regional integration, tourism, transportation ecosystem and industrialisation.

He spoke of the president’s determination to ensure that funding was made available for the legacy projects through different intervention mechanisms.

Speaking during the event, the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, commended the President of Nigeria for promptly sending the minister to visit and assess the damaged sections of the road in the state with a view to providing intervention.

He said that the state government and the entire Emirate Council were gratified by the proactive attitude and sense of responsiveness demonstrated by federal government currently.