• Inaugurates 33.5km dual carriageway in Rivers, says it’s consistent with president’s Renewed Hope
Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
Vice President Kashim Shettima said the administration of President Bola Tinubu was deliberately spreading infrastructure and economic opportunities beyond major cities to reduce congestion, create jobs, and promote balanced national development across Nigeria.
Shettima said the move was driven by the administration’s conviction that such state-driven projects were consistent with the Renewed Hope Agenda’s push to expand security, welfare, and economic opportunity beyond the centre.
Shettima, just back from a two-week leave,
spoke on Thursday while inaugurating the Elele-Umudioga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Akpabu-Ikiri-Omoku Dual Carriageway in Rivers State on behalf of Tinubu.
He commended the Rivers State government for investing in infrastructure to expand the country’s road network and create greater economic opportunities for citizens.
The 33.5-kilometre road, which runs through Ikwerre, Emohua, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government areas of the state, connects communities along an important agricultural, commercial, and oil and gas corridor leading towards Omoku, widely regarded as the state’s “Gas City”.
The vice president stated, “A nation becomes congested when opportunity is congested. People move because roads, markets, jobs and services have not moved far enough towards them.”
According to him, roads are among the most democratic instruments of development, as they connect farmers to markets, workers to jobs, students to schools and patients to healthcare.
Shettima said, “Roads are among the most democratic instruments of development. They serve the farmer carrying produce to market, the trader seeking customers, the worker travelling to employment, the student going to school and the patient seeking care.
“When a road works, society moves.”
He said the completed road will help farmers move produce faster, reduce losses, lower logistics costs for businesses and open communities along the corridor to greater economic activity.
Shettima said, “Public infrastructure must be judged by the lives it improves. A road earns its value when a farmer earns more, a child reaches school earlier, and isolation no longer punishes enterprise.”
The vice president commended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara for completing the project, describing it as consistent with Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the federal government’s support for state-led investments that improve security, welfare, and economic opportunities.
He stressed the importance of continuity in governance, saying, “One administration lays a foundation, another strengthens it, and the people remain the final beneficiaries.”
Shettima urged communities along the corridor to protect the infrastructure against vandalism and other activities capable of shortening its lifespan.
“Our next responsibility is to protect this asset from vandalism, reckless use and every practice that shortens the life of public infrastructure,” he said.
Earlier, Fubara said the 33.5-kilometre road, with a river crossing bridge, will improve security and ease the age-long suffering of the people of the three local government areas of Ikwere, Emohua, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni.
The governor explained that in the past, the road was a corridor for kidnapping, oil bunkering, and other forms of criminality, assuring that with the commissioning of the road, insecurity will be a thing of the past along the road corridor, and security agencies would increase surveillance in the area.
Fubara stated, “In this project, we have lights from the beginning to the end. So, even in the night, insecurity is totally eliminated. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the federal government and the good people of Rivers State.”
He said the Elele-Omoku road was not just a signature project, but an eloquent testimony of his administration’s love and care for the people of the state, describing it as a promise kept.
He stated, “For anybody who understands the nature of this road, they will appreciate what we have done here. It’s not just a project; it’s a statement that we have made to show our people that we care for you.
“We already know what normally happens on this road. It is a corridor for kidnap; it is also a very big corridor for bunkering. I’m very, very convinced that with what we have done today, those things will be things of the past. Security agencies can now operate effectively along this corridor.”
The governor thanked Tinubu and Shettima for their support to the government and people of Rivers State.
The governor said, “I am a bit emotional today because for a very long time, I felt maybe we were not part of this country, but today I feel very happy that our country is also standing by us, ably represented here by no other person but distinguished Senator Kashim Shettima, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. You can see why I feel emotional.”
Commissioner for Works, Professor Temple Nwofor, said the inauguration of the road represented another significant step in the state government’s determination to provide durable infrastructure that would improve connectivity, enhance mobility, and promote economic activities within the benefiting communities.
Nwofor said the 33.5 kilometres road linking three local government areas in Rivers State will enhance development and open up opportunities that would address societal challenges.
Chairman of Emohua Local Government Area, Dr. Chidi Lloyd, said the project will open communities, ease transportation, and boost economic activities in the affected local governments areas.
Lloyd said the project was more than asphalt, adding that it is a road to reconciliation and prosperity that connects people’s hearts.
According to Lloyd, “This day is significant not because we are commissioning the Elele-Omoku road but because of what it represents. We sincerely appreciate the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We also thank the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory for his fatherly intervention and for standing with Rivers people on this journey.”