Shettima:Tinubu’s Spreading Economic, Infrastructural Opportunities Beyond Major Cities Nationwide

.Inaugurates 33.5km dual carriageway in Rivers, says it’s consistent with president’s renewed hope agenda

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Vice President Kashim Shettima has said the administration of President Bola Tinubu is deliberately spreading infrastructure and economic opportunities beyond major cities to reduce congestion, expand jobs and promote balanced national development across Nigeria.
This, he noted, is driven by the administration’s conviction that such state-driven projects are consistent with the Renewed Hope Agenda’s push to expand security, welfare and economic opportunity beyond the centre.
Shettima, just back from a two-week leave,
stated this on Thursday while inaugurating the Elele-Umudioga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Akpabu-Ikiri-Omoku Dual Carriageway in Rivers State on behalf of President Tinubu.
The 33.5-kilometre road, which runs through Ikwerre, Emohua and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government areas of the state, connects communities along an important agricultural, commercial and oil and gas corridor leading towards Omoku, widely regarded as the state’s “Gas City.”
“A nation becomes congested when opportunity is congested. People move because roads, markets, jobs and services have not moved far enough towards them,” the Vice President stated.
According to him, roads are among the most democratic instruments of development as they connect farmers to markets, workers to jobs, students to schools and patients to healthcare.
“Roads are among the most democratic instruments of development. They serve the farmer carrying produce to market, the trader seeking customers, the worker travelling to employment, the student going to school and the patient seeking care. When a road works, society moves,” Shettima maintained.
The completed road, he said, will help farmers move produce faster, reduce losses, lower logistics costs for businesses and open communities along the corridor to greater economic activity.
“Public infrastructure must be judged by the lives it improves. A road earns its value when a farmer earns more, a child reaches school earlier, and isolation no longer punishes enterprise,” he said.
The Vice President commended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara for completing the project, describing it as consistent with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Federal Government’s support for state-led investments that improve security, welfare and economic opportunities.
He also stressed the importance of continuity in governance, saying, “One administration lays a foundation, another strengthens it, and the people remain the final beneficiaries.”
Shettima urged communities along the corridor to protect the infrastructure against vandalism and other activities capable of shortening its lifespan.
“Our next responsibility is to protect this asset from vandalism, reckless use and every practice that shortens the life of public infrastructure,” he said.
Earlier, Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State said the 33.5 kilometer road, with a river crossing bridge, will improve security and ease the age-long suffering of the people of the three local governments areas of Ikwere, Emohua and Ogba/Egbema /Ndoni.
The governor explained that in the past, the road was a corridor for kidnapping, oil bunkering, and other forms of criminality, assuring that with the commissioning of the road, insecurity will be a thing of the past along the road corridor, and that security agencies would increase surveillance in the area.
“In this project, we have lights from the beginning to the end. So, even in the night, insecurity is totally eliminated. This won’t have been possible without the support of the Federal Government and the good people of Rivers State.
“I want to thank you for this special support that you have been giving to us for us to come here to say, to the glory of God, that promise made is a promise kept,” Fubara said.
He thanked President Tinubu and the Vice President for their unwavering support to the government and people of Rivers state.
“I am a bit emotional today because for a very long time, I felt maybe we were not part of this country, but today I feel very happy that our country is also standing by us, ably represented here by no other person but distinguished Senator Kashim Shettima, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. You can see why I feel emotion,” the governor added.
Earlier, Rivers Srate Commissioner for Works, Prof. Temple Nwofor, said the inauguration of the road represents another significant step in the determination of the State government to provide durable infrastructure that would improve connectivity, enhance mobility and promote economic activities within the benefiting communities.
He noted that the 33.5 kilometer road linking three local government areas in Rivers State will enhance development and open up opportunities that would address societal challenges.
Also, Chairman of Emohua local government council, Dr Chidi Lloyd, said the project will open communities, ease transportation and boost economic activities in the affected local governments areas.
He said the project was more than asphalt, adding that it was a road to reconciliation and prosperity that connects people’s hearts.
According to Lloyd: “This day is significant not because we are commissioning the Elele-Omoku road but because of what it represents. We sincerely appreciate the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We also thank the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory for his fatherly intervention and for standing with Rivers people on this journey.”