The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has announced that the Federal Government plans to construct a 477-kilometer six-lane Super Highway connecting five states to the Federal Capital Territory.
Umahi made this known on Wednesday during the stakeholder’s engagement on the alignment for Ebonyi’s 101-kilometer segment of the super highway.
According to him, the highway will traverse Cross River, Ebonyi, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, and terminate at Abuja, promising significant economic benefits for Ebonyi and the adjoining states.
The minister emphasized that the road would serve as a vital agricultural and economic corridor, aligning with President Bola Tinubu’s agenda for achieving food sufficiency in the country.
“The highway will be an agricultural and economically viable route that would enable Ebonyi for instance, to evacuate farm produce such as rice, yams, and potatoes to other states of the country.
“These farm produce are found in large quantities in such routes but cannot be evacuated due to poor road network.
“The road is a spur of the coastal highway that runs from Lagos to Calabar and was designed by the colonial masters to integrate the Southeast states,” he said.
He called for support from all stakeholders to actualise the project noting that President Tinubu placed great emphasis on the infrastructural revolution of the country.
“Nigeria is currently suffering from the effects of past neglects and this informed the bold, revolutionary decisions of the president.
“There is no part of the southeast zone that is not touched on road revolution: Umuahia-Aba-Port Harcourt road, Enugu—Abakaliki road, Onitsha-Owerri-Aba roads, among others,” he said.
Umahi allayed fears of compensation for people to be affected during the super highway construction and commended Gov. Francis Nwifuru for compensating those affected on the dualisation of the Enugu–Abakaliki highway.
“We emphasize quality jobs which made us send all directors of the ministry to field, to supervise contractors,” he said.
Gov. Francis Nwifuru in his remarks expressed delight over the project and commended Unahi for his untiring efforts to infrastructurally develop the state.
“You laid an irreversible foundation for the state’s infrastructural development and this sustenance conforms with our administration’s people’s charter of needs mantra.
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“This mantra is anchored on human capital development and infrastructural development and we have recorded significant strides in these areas since assuming office,” he said.
He assured of the state government’s support to ensure the realisation of the project due to its economic and social benefits to its people.
Sen. Onyekachi Nwebonyi (APC–Ebonyi North) described the project as a ‘dream come true’, noting that his constituents had been yearning for the project.
“I remember as a child, seeing my father and surveyors from the Ministry of works in the old Anambra, surveying the road on the axis connecting my community and Benue.
“That was why barely three months at the Senate, I relayed to the federal ministry of works that the road was opened in 1954 by the colonial masters and was of utmost importance to my people,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that relevant stakeholders engaged in constructive deliberations on how to attain the desired goals for the super highway.