Umahi: Tinubu’s Reforms Driving Economic Recovery as FG Begins 122km Kaduna–Birnin Gwari Road

Nigeria's Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, asserted that President Bola Tinubu's economic reforms are showing tangible progress, particularly through aggressive investment in road infrastructure. He stated that these projects are crucial for tackling insecurity, stimulating economic growth, improving agriculture, and reconnecting communities.

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We are using this road infrastructure to fix the economic problems we met on the ground. We are using road infrastructure to fight the insecurity we met on the ground. We are using road building to fight hunger we met on the ground. We are using this road infrastructure to fight the injustices we met on the ground where some states had no federal project like Plateau, Gombe, Ebonyi and even Kaduna.

Umahi spoke at the official launch of the reconstruction of the 122-kilometer Kaduna (Mando)–Birnin Gwari Road in Kaduna State. He described the project as a fulfillment of Tinubu's "Renewed Hope Agenda" and a key instrument for addressing the nation's socio-economic challenges. "We are using this road infrastructure to fix the economic problems we met on the ground. We are using road infrastructure to fight the insecurity we met on the ground. We are using road building to fight hunger we met on the ground," Umahi declared.

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By doing this road, the president is shortening the distance between the North and Lagos. This is the shortest route to Lagos State because by the time it gets to Birnin Gwari, it leads to Niger, then connects Kwara, Osun, Oyo and Lagos. This is a very important road.

The minister further explained that the Kaduna–Birnin Gwari Road will significantly shorten the transportation corridor between Northern Nigeria and Lagos, passing through Niger, Kwara, Osun, and Oyo states. He also noted improvements in security along the Abuja–Kaduna corridor, attributing it to the ongoing highway reconstruction.

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I was told that before now it was a bad idea travelling from Abuja to Kaduna because of countless attacks, but it is now a thing of the past since the Abuja-Kaduna road project started.

Addressing criticisms that the government prioritizes new projects over existing ones, Umahi listed several major rehabilitation projects underway nationwide. These include the Sokoto–Zamfara–Funtua–Zaria Road, Enugu–Onitsha Expressway, Makurdi–Ninth Mile Road, Bodo–Bonny Road, and the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano highway. He reiterated that road infrastructure is a vital catalyst for economic development, positively impacting GDP, security, agriculture, commerce, and education.

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When a road is built, it is a catalyst. It is a GDP that grows other GDPs. When a road is built, insecurity is minimised, there is an agricultural revolution. When a road is built, there is an increase in commerce and education.