Vice-President Kashim Shettima has said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is deliberately expanding infrastructure and economic opportunities beyond major cities to reduce congestion, create jobs and promote balanced national development.
Shettima stated this on Thursday while inaugurating the 33.5-kilometre Elele-Umudioga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Akpabu-Ikiri-Omoku Dual Carriageway in Rivers State on behalf of President Tinubu.
The Vice-President, who had just returned from a two-week leave, commended the Rivers State Government for investing in infrastructure to expand the state’s road network and create greater economic opportunities for residents.
The road passes through Ikwerre, Emohua and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas and connects communities along a major agricultural, commercial and oil and gas corridor leading to Omoku, popularly known as the state’s “Gas City.”
Shettima said the project was consistent with the Renewed Hope Agenda and the Federal Government’s drive to expand security, welfare and economic opportunities beyond major urban centres.
“A nation becomes congested when opportunity is congested. People move because roads, markets, jobs and services have not moved far enough towards them,” he said.
He described roads as critical instruments of inclusive development because they connect farmers to markets, workers to jobs, students to schools and patients to healthcare facilities.
“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,” the Vice-President said.
According to Shettima, the completed road would enable farmers to transport their produce faster, reduce losses, lower logistics costs for businesses and open communities along the corridor to increased 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.
Shettima 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.”
The Vice-President urged communities along the corridor to protect the infrastructure from vandalism, reckless use 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 Fubara said the road, which includes a river-crossing bridge, would improve security and ease longstanding transportation challenges faced by residents of the three benefiting local government areas.
He said the corridor had previously been associated with kidnapping, oil bunkering and other criminal activities, but expressed confidence that the completed project would significantly improve security.
Fubara disclosed that streetlights had been installed along the entire stretch of the road, enabling greater visibility at night and facilitating security operations.
“In this project, we have lights from the beginning to the end. So, even in the night, insecurity is totally eliminated. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the Federal Government and the good people of Rivers State,” he said.
The governor described the Elele-Omoku road as more than a signature project, saying it represented his administration’s commitment to improving the welfare of Rivers residents.
“We already know what normally happens on this road. It is a corridor for kidnap; it is also a very big corridor for bunkering. I’m very, very convinced that with what we have done today, those things will be things of the past. Security agencies can now operate effectively along this corridor,” Fubara said.
He thanked President Tinubu and Vice-President Shettima for their support for the Rivers State Government and its people.
“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,” Fubara said.
The Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Professor Temple Nwofor, said the inauguration marked another significant step in the state government’s efforts to provide durable infrastructure, improve connectivity and enhance mobility across the state.
Nwofor said the 33.5-kilometre road linking the three local government areas would promote economic activities and open up new opportunities for residents.
Also speaking, Chairman of Emohua Local Government Area, Dr Chidi Lloyd, said the project would open up communities, ease transportation and stimulate economic activities across the benefiting areas.
Lloyd described the project as more than a road, saying it represented a path to reconciliation and prosperity by strengthening connections among communities.
“This day is significant not because we are commissioning the Elele-Omoku road but because of what it represents,” Lloyd said, while expressing appreciation to President Tinubu and other stakeholders who contributed to the project’s completion.
