PRESIDENT TINUBU PLEDGES MORE FUNDING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

President Bola Tinubu has assured that more funds would be committed to infrastructure development, urging governors to collaborate with the federal government to align building approvals. In a statement, President Tinubu said proper approval alignment between subnational and federal governments will facilitate the construction of major roads and bridges across the country.

“I have directed the Minister of Works, David Umahi, and the Surveyor General of the federation to work more closely with the governors,” President Tinubu said while commissioning the Lekki Deep Sea Port Access Road at the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Plant in Lagos. Tinubu emphasized that aligning state approvals with the Federal Government will reduce the burden of compensation and delays in actualizing people-oriented projects.

The President also commended the Federal Ministry of Works, Messrs Hitech Construction Company Limited, Messrs Dangote Industries Limited, BUA, and all contractors involved in the country’s road development. “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.

Tinubu dismissed critics of the government’s legacy projects, saying they are ignorant about how the government awarded the legacy roads to contractors. “It is necessary to note that the Federal Executive Council approved our Legacy Projects to be procured, awarded and constructed in sections,” he explained.

The President also flagged off several projects for construction, including Section I Phase IB-120km of Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway in Sokoto State and the construction of Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway (Section II)-55km in Lagos to Ogun State Border. Tinubu thanked the “four wise men of the private sector”: Jim Ovia, Femi Otedola, Abdulsamad Rabiu, and Aliko Dangote, for contributing to Nigeria’s economy.

In his remarks, Aliko Dangote, the President of the Dangote Group, thanked President Tinubu for envisioning and implementing the Lekki Deep Sea Port project and assured him of the private sector’s support for expanding infrastructure nationwide. Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, speaking on behalf of the governors, thanked President Tinubu for removing the subsidy, which had translated into increased allocations to the states for health, education, and infrastructure investments.