Ndume Lauds Tinubu for Walking His Talk on Repair of Gombe-Biu Highway

Senator Ali Ndume, the former Senate Leader, has commended President Bola Tinubu for fulfilling his promise to reconstruct and dualize the Gombe-Biu highway. The N1.245 trillion project, spanning 125 kilometers, was officially launched on Thursday in Liji, Gombe state.

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In 2019, during a a high-level engagement with the then Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, which I initiated, I expressed concerns regarding the deplorable condition of the Biu–Gombe Road, emphasizing its strategic significance to economic integration, inter-state mobility, security operations, and regional development within the North-East subregion.

The flag-off ceremony was attended by key figures including the state Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, and the Managing Director of Hi-Tech Construction Company, Mr. Danny Abboud. Senator Ndume expressed his appreciation for President Tinubu and Minister Umahi's commitment to improving the road, which he noted is crucial for the people of the North East states.

Ndume recalled his past efforts to draw attention to the highway's dilapidated condition under previous administrations, efforts that were met with significant resistance. He mentioned engaging with former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, in 2019, and later presenting the need for the Biu-Gombe corridor's inclusion in federal rehabilitation priorities in 2021.

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Also in July 2021, during an engagement with the Ministry of Works, during deliberations connected to national infrastructure financing frameworks, including projects tied to African Development Bank-supported facilities, I also made presentation on the urgent need to include the Biu–Gombe corridor within federal rehabilitation priorities, strategic funding windows, and long-term infrastructure development frameworks.

He expressed particular satisfaction that his letter to the current Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, on February 11, 2026, highlighting the exclusion of certain Borno state areas from the 2026 Budget Four Legacy Projects, ultimately led to the approval of the Biu-Gombe Road project. This project is being financed through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) tax liabilities arrangement. Ndume emphasized that the rehabilitated highway will serve as a vital economic and social corridor, connecting the North East to other parts of Nigeria and neighboring West African countries.

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It is heart warming to note that my interaction with the present Minister of Works, Dave Umahi in a letter dated February 11, 2026, in which I drew his attention to the exclusion of the Biu/ Damboa/ Maiduguri all in Borno state in the 2026 Budget Four Legacy Projects of the present administration finally paid off as the Federal Executive Council (FEC) eventually approved the Biu–Gombe Road project under the federal tax credit and infrastructure intervention framework.