Works Minister, Engr. David Umahi, has said that President Bola Tinubu is committed to developing every part of the country with fairness and equity.
Umahi was responding to Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s claim that President Tinubu’s administration is marginalising the North in road infrastructure development, saying it is absolutely false, misleading, and self-serving.
He stated that, as Minister of Works, he has verified facts to prove otherwise, adding that the four legacy projects of President Tinubu demonstrate a commitment to fairness and equity.
In a statement he personally signed on Friday and made available to journalists in Abakaliki, the minister listed the legacy projects to include: Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, 175 km ongoing (South); Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, 378 km ongoing (North); Trans-Sahara Road, 118 km ongoing in Ebonyi State (South); and Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe Road, redesigned and ongoing (North).
Umahi disclosed that, in these projects, the North has 52% and the South has 48%. Moreover, ongoing projects in the North include Sokoto-Zamfara-Katsina-Kaduna Road, 275 km dualised, ₦824 billion; Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road, 350 km dualised, ₦764 billion; BUA Tax Credit Road, 256 km dualised; Jigawa-Katsina-Kano Northern Bypass, 49 km; and other projects in Borno, Kebbi, Benue, and Kogi states.
In contrast, major ongoing projects in the South include the completion of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; completion of Lagos-Sagamu Road-Oyo-Ogbomoso-Ilorin Road; and repairs of Carter Bridge, Third Mainland Bridge, and Eko Bridge, as well as other projects in the Southeast and South-South regions.
He assured that he would publish a comprehensive list of ongoing projects next week, including those above ₦20 billion.
