President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the full development of Arterial Road N5 along the Obafemi Awolowo Way corridor linking Life Camp Junction to Ring Road III in Dape District, declaring that Abuja would be progressively transformed into a capital city capable of reflecting Nigeria’s growing population, economic aspirations, and national identity, and that his administration had ended the era of abandoned projects that had made infrastructure a source of public frustration rather than confidence.
Represented at the inauguration by Vice President Kashim Shettima, the president said the project was conceived, awarded to Julius Berger with a 15-month execution timeline, and completed under the current administration after its flag-off in October 2024, in a deliberate departure from the culture of projects becoming permanent budget items with decades of accompanying excuses. He described the corridor as an economic asset as much as a transport facility, saying the completion of the N5 link created faster connections between Dape, Karmo, Gwarinpa I, Kado, Idu, and Mbora while unlocking improved access to the Idu Industrial District and delivering on a specific element of the Abuja Master Plan that had long remained unrealized.
The president used the occasion to make a broader statement about the administration’s infrastructure posture, saying there had been no break, no pause, and no retreat in the construction and rehabilitation of roads since May 2023 and that this consistency was what distinguished the current approach from the cycles of commencement and abandonment that had defined public infrastructure delivery for previous generations. He said improved transport connectivity in Abuja directly reduced logistics costs, encouraged investment, and supported job creation in ways that returned tangible economic dividends to residents and businesses alike.
Tinubu directed residents and businesses benefiting from the development to fulfil their tax and land-related obligations as a reciprocal contribution to the FCT administration’s capacity to deliver further projects, and appealed to traditional rulers, community leaders, and the general public to protect public infrastructure from vandalism and damage.
FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who attended the ceremony, said the pace and scope of development in Abuja’s satellite towns and communities under the current administration was unprecedented and represented the most visible embodiment of the Renewed Hope Agenda within the territory.
