President Tinubu
Olamilekan Abayomi
President Bola Tinubu has restated his administration’s commitment to linking every part of Nigeria with a modern, high-quality road network as a foundation for economic growth and national integration. Speaking at a recent infrastructure event, he said that poor road connectivity has long held back trade, investment, and access to services, and that fixing it is central to his Renewed Hope agenda. The president framed roads not just as concrete and asphalt, but as economic corridors that will determine how fast goods, people, and ideas move across the country.
A key part of that vision is the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a flagship project designed to run along Nigeria’s southern coastline and connect Lagos to Cross River State. The government has also prioritized the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, which is expected to open up the northwest to the Atlantic seaboard, and the Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja Road in the southeast. These corridors are intended to reduce travel time, lower transport costs for farmers and manufacturers, and make it easier for businesses to access ports, markets, and regional trade routes under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Tinubu’s government has been pushing a mix of funding models to deliver the roads faster than traditional budgetary allocations would allow. The Ministry of Works has leaned heavily on the Highway Development and Management Initiative, tax credit schemes, and public-private partnerships to bring in private capital. The idea is to attract investors by giving them a role in construction, maintenance, and tolling, while government provides right-of-way, regulatory support, and counterpart funding. Officials argue this approach can unlock projects that have stalled for decades due to funding gaps.
Beyond the big inter-state highways, the administration says it is also focusing on rural and feeder roads that connect farms to markets. Agriculture is a major employer, and bad rural roads are often cited as a reason for post-harvest losses and high food prices. By improving last-mile connectivity, the government hopes to strengthen food security, reduce rural-urban migration pressures, and make it easier for healthcare and education services to reach remote communities. The Works Ministry has said it is mapping critical rural routes alongside the major highways.
There are however real execution challenges that will test the pledge. Funding availability, inflation in construction materials, and compensation for land acquisition have delayed similar projects in the past. Security concerns in some regions also affect contractor mobilization and project timelines. The administration says it is addressing this through better project management, stricter supervision, and digital tracking of contracts, but delivery will depend on consistent budget release and private sector confidence.
If the plan moves at pace, the economic payoff could be significant. Better roads tend to reduce vehicle maintenance costs, improve logistics efficiency, and attract investment to areas that were previously hard to reach. For ordinary Nigerians, it would mean shorter, safer trips and lower transport fares. Tinubu’s vow is therefore being watched closely as a litmus test of whether the Renewed Hope infrastructure push can translate into tangible connectivity across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
