Minister of Works David Umahi has pointed to the Federal Government’s extensive road construction programme as evidence of where resources freed by the removal of fuel subsidy are being deployed, citing billions of naira committed to highways, bridges and strategic transport corridors across Nigeria.
Umahi spoke on Monday, August 10, 2026, at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja, where he was inducted as patron of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS.
Responding to questions about the removal of fuel subsidy and public concerns over the use of the resulting savings, the minister highlighted major road projects being executed under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
He said the scale of construction nationwide demonstrated that government resources were being channelled into infrastructure intended to improve connectivity, commerce and public safety.
The minister cited the Abuja-Kaduna- Zaria-Kano road as one of the most significant examples.
According to him, the route covers 375 kilometres, equivalent to 750 kilometres when measured as a dual carriageway.
He said more than ₦200 billion had already been spent on the project, while 480 kilometres of the dual carriageway had been completed and other sections were nearing completion.
“For the first time, we have been able to complete 118 kilometres of concrete pavement within 30 months. That has never happened,” Umahi said.
He said the remaining work on the route was expected to be completed by November, adding that the two projects covering the route had a combined cost of ₦752 billion, with more than 80 percent of the amount already paid.
Umahi also listed the Sokoto-Zamfara- Zaria corridor, the Benue-Ninth Mile road and the Bodo-Bonny Island road among projects receiving substantial attention from the Federal Government.
Bonny road ends dependence on sea travel, minister says
The minister gave particular emphasis to the Bodo-Bonny Island road, describing it as a transformational project for communities in an area where residents had historically depended heavily on water transport.
He said the 39.7-kilometre road, constructed at a cost of ₦280 billion, had been completed under the Tinubu administration.
The project, he added, would provide a land connection between Bonny Island and the mainland and reduce the risks associated with travelling by sea.
“For the first time, people will move from the island to the mainland in Bonny Island, where the LNG is produced. A project costing ₦280 billion under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been completed,” Umahi said.
“The 39.7-kilometre road is fully done, and the people of Bonny are very happy. They are no longer dying at sea. They are now driving through the land.”
The minister presented the project as an example of how public investment in infrastructure could generate direct benefits for communities, workers and businesses while improving access to areas of major economic importance.
Legacy projects form centrepiece of government’s infrastructure agenda
Umahi also defended the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, one of the administration’s flagship infrastructure projects and a subject of sustained public criticism.
He argued that the highway was strategically important to the Niger Delta and should not be singled out for criticism while other legacy projects received less attention.
According to him, more than 50 percent of the entire stretch was already under construction and the project would be completed.
“I do not know why people are attacking the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. After all, this is coming from the Niger Delta, where the oil is coming from,” Umahi said.
“That project will be completed. In fact, over 50 percent of the entire stretch is already under construction.”
The minister also disclosed that the Northeast Fourth Legacy Project had been expanded beyond its original route from Akwanga through Jos, Bauchi, Gombe and Biu.
He said the route had been extended through Yobe to Maiduguri, adding approximately 400 kilometres to the project.
He further announced that President Tinubu had approved the re-scoping and reconstruction of the 401-kilometre Lokoja-Benin-Warri corridor.
Southeast receives infrastructure attention, Umahi says
Umahi used the occasion to argue that the Southeast was receiving deliberate attention under the current administration.
He cited the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway and the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway as major projects intended to improve regional connectivity and integrate the Southeast more closely into the national transport network. “The Southeast, for the first time, is being remembered,” he said.
He said President Tinubu’s approach to the region was intentional and urged residents to look beyond political sentiment when assessing government policies and projects.
“The President has a good intention to integrate the people of the Southeast,” Umahi said, adding that the region needed to work with other parts of the country to correct past imbalances.
GDP growth offers hope, minister says
Beyond infrastructure spending, Umahi said Nigeria’s economic outlook was beginning to improve.
He stated that the country’s Gross Domestic Product was growing faster than its population, which he described as an indication that Nigeria had a viable future.
“I was enthused to find out that our GDP is growing more than our population. That means we have a future,” he said.
The minister acknowledged that the macroeconomic recovery was still at an early stage but urged Nigerians to compare current conditions with the state of the economy before the Tinubu administration assumed office.
“You may say that the macroeconomy is just beginning to recover. What was it like before the President took over? Everybody agrees that the macro-economy is being fixed,” he said.
Umahi also pointed to the reported decline in the price of rice as another development Nigerians should consider. He said a 50-kilogramme bag, which had risen above ₦80,000 and at one point reached ₦100,000, was now selling for about ₦58,000.
He further claimed that students had enjoyed greater stability under the current administration because they had not been affected by nationwide strikes during the period under review.
“For the first time, students never went on strike. Never. Look at the stability of Nigeria. That has never happened throughout the history of this country,” he said.
NANS backs infrastructure projects
The minister’s remarks followed commendations from NANS, which inducted him as patron and described him as “one of the finest” public servants in the Renewed Hope cabinet.
The association’s president, Dist. Comr. Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, said the recognition was not merely ceremonial but reflected Umahi’s contribution to road infrastructure and national development.
Afeez said roads and bridges had a direct effect on students’ lives by influencing their mobility, access to schools, examinations, internships, business opportunities and employment.
He cited the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, the Abuja-Kaduna-Minna route, the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as examples of projects that NANS believed would strengthen national connectivity.
The NANS president said the association had studied project reports from the Federal Ministry of Works covering May 2023 to May 2026.
He disclosed that students planned to embark on nationwide project tours to inspect completed and rehabilitated roads and communicate their findings to students and the wider public.
Umahi asks students to judge government by results
Umahi challenged students and other young Nigerians to examine the administration’s policies objectively instead of relying solely on political rhetoric.
He rejected suggestions that President Tinubu was tired, arguing that members of the cabinet and senior government officials remained active in implementing the administration’s agenda.
“If you say that the President is not doing well, what is your alternative?” he asked, insisting that criticism should be matched by a clear plan and practical solutions.
He urged young Nigerians to take a position on national affairs and made a direct appeal for support for Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
“If you say you are on the list of a coalition and you say that what we are doing is good, then we have to take a stand to vote for the President in the coming election,” Umahi said. “Let him finish. Let him take back our country. Let him reposition our country.”
The minister said Nigerians should not allow insults, blackmail or cheap political talk to distract them from assessing the government’s performance. “The worst is over. The darkest part of the night is an hour before dawn,” he said.
Ministry invites anti-graft agencies to inspect projects
Umahi also used the event to stress the ministry’s stated commitment to transparency.
He said the ministry had opened its projects to scrutiny by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, which had already visited some project sites.
He added that the ministry had written to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to inspect its projects as well.
“We are ready for constructive criticism, and where necessary, we will make amends,” Umahi said. “We have nothing to hide in this administration.”
He invited NANS to organise public engagements across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, where students could ask questions directly about government policies, infrastructure spending and the administration’s reform programme.
Umahi said he would attend the engagements with other ministers and senior presidential aides, describing students as important stakeholders in the country’s future.
He also urged young Nigerians to protect public infrastructure and report vandalism or damage to government facilities.
“See something, say something. Together, we can take back our country because it belongs to us,” he said.
The minister argued that responsibility for government performance should rest with the officials assigned to specific sectors.
As minister of works, he said he should be held accountable for the performance of the country’s roads and bridges rather than having every operational failure attributed to the President.
In his address, Afeez said the infrastructure being delivered under Umahi’s leadership would outlive the present administration and continue serving future generations.
“History will not remember public officers merely because they occupied important offices. History will remember them for what they built, what they changed and the lives they touched,” the NANS president said.
Afeez formally welcomed Umahi into the NANS family as patron, describing the partnership between the student body and the Ministry of Works as an opportunity to bring government projects closer to young Nigerians and promote informed national debate.
Umahi thanked the students for the recognition and expressed his readiness to deepen collaboration with the association.
