Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, has rejected assertions that the Southeast is missing from Nigeria’s federal road development map under the Tinubu government.
In a statement released on Monday by the ministry’s spokesperson, Mohammed Ahmed, Umahi described the report as “mischievous and deceptive.”
The report in question, written by Linus Anagboso (popularly called D-Big Pen), was titled “The Politics of Asphalt: Why is the Southeast Missing from the Map?” It accused the Tinubu administration of excluding the Southeast from ongoing infrastructure development.
But Umahi disagreed completely.
“President Tinubu has revived 90 per cent of abandoned road projects, some dating back to 2013,” he said. “He is still executing new ones without discrimination.”
Massive Projects Already Underway
To back his claims, Umahi outlined major federal road projects already underway in the Southeast.
The list includes:
- Second Niger Bridge Access Roads
Section 2A in Delta (₦146 billion) and Section 2B in Anambra (₦176 billion) - Enugu-Onitsha Road (208 km)
MTN is funding the project under a tax credit scheme at ₦202 billion. CBC is handling the remaining portion at ₦150 billion. - Enugu–Port Harcourt Road (multi-section)
This covers stretches across Enugu-Abakaliki, Afikpo-Abia-Imo, Onitsha-Owerri-Aba, Aba-Ikot Ekpene, and Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene.
Another massive federal road project — stretching from Cross River through Ebonyi, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Abuja — includes a 231.64 km section in the Southeast alone. The contract was awarded for ₦445.8 billion.
Umahi said the route was recently reviewed by the Federal Executive Council, but the contract sum remained unchanged.
“Anagboso deliberately misrepresented this as an Oyo-Benue road just to mislead the public,” Umahi insisted.
“We’ve Been Fair. The Records Are There”
Umahi says these facts prove that the Tinubu government is not ignoring the Southeast.
“These projects clearly show that the Southeast has not been sidelined,” he said.
He urged the people of the region to give full support to President Bola Tinubu, adding that the President has treated the Southeast with fairness and good intentions.
He also praised governors in the region for their cooperation, encouraging citizens to back them to secure second terms.
However, on the matter of producing a Nigerian president, Umahi said bluntly:
“It will not happen in 2027.”
He assured Nigerians that no region has been shortchanged under the current administration.
“There is no discrimination in the execution of federal road projects,” Umahi concluded. “Any claims suggesting otherwise are not only false but intended to deceive our people.”
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