The Presidency has cited ongoing road, bridge, healthcare and urban development projects across Benue and Nasarawa states as evidence of President Bola Tinubu’s performance in office.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Print Media, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, said the projects inspected during the Renewed Hope Ambassadors National Media Tour demonstrated what he described as the lasting legacies of the Tinubu administration.
Abdulaziz spoke on Sunday during the nationwide inspection of Federal and state infrastructure projects in Nasarawa State, the second leg of the tour led by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The delegation had earlier visited Benue State to inspect infrastructure projects and assess the impact of government interventions in the state.
Abdulaziz said the projects across the two states reflected the administration’s focus on infrastructure development and its effort to translate economic reforms into tangible benefits for Nigerians.
“Taken together, what we have seen today actually represents what we’ve been saying to Nigerians about the revolution that the Tinubu administration has brought, in terms of public infrastructure, in terms of lasting legacies,” he said.
He added that the projects were not merely short-term interventions but investments expected to continue benefiting Nigerians in the years ahead.
“When we talk about lasting legacies, we are not talking about things that will fade away tomorrow, but things that will outlast us, things that will better the lives of the common man,” Abdulaziz stated.
The Presidential aide also linked the infrastructure investments to the administration’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy.
He acknowledged that the subsidy removal generated concerns over its immediate impact on Nigerians but argued that government was redirecting resources towards projects capable of stimulating economic growth.
“When subsidy was removed, there was a lot of conversation about the impact on the common man.
“But then we are seeing government giving back what is somehow lost by the removal of subsidy, in terms of investment that will actually bring about economic development,” he said.
He cited the Makurdi-Otukpo-Enugu road corridor, initiated in 2024, as an example of the infrastructure investments, saying the project had already reduced travel time and stimulated economic activity across parts of Nasarawa, Benue and Enugu states.
States benefiting from Federal reforms
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Special Duties, Tunde Rahman, also said the projects being executed by the Benue and Nasarawa State governments were partly enabled by the fiscal reforms of the Federal Government.
Rahman said both state governors had acknowledged that the reforms had increased their financial capacity to execute development projects.
“We have seen iconic road projects. We have seen interventions in healthcare. We have seen bridges, both by the Federal Government and the state governments. And it bears restating to say that what we have seen are part of the gains of reforms undertaken by President Bola Tinubu,” Rahman said.
According to him, the reforms initially generated complaints because of the difficulties associated with their implementation but had subsequently begun producing what he described as benefits.
“Both governors have been very unanimous in stating that they were able to do what they did because the Federal Government reforms have freed resources to them, and they have more fiscal space to perform,” he said.
Rahman also dismissed opposition claims that the Tinubu administration had failed to deliver on its promises, arguing that the infrastructure projects across the states provided evidence to the contrary.
“Forget about the remonstration of the opposition, who continue to claim that Mr President has not done anything, seeing is believing. You have seen for yourselves from about Wednesday till now,” he stated.
He further said the administration’s record justified a second term for Tinubu in 2027.
“Anybody that has done well deserves to come back again. Mr President has done well during this first time, and he deserves to be re-elected in order to continue the work that he has done,” Rahman said.
N43bn–N44bn Mararaba project
Meanwhile, officials in Nasarawa State highlighted major road projects being undertaken to address congestion and improve transportation along the Abuja-Keffi corridor.
At the Total Roundabout flyover and circular intersection in Keffi, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Nasarawa State Urban Development Agency, Wada Mohammed, said the project was conceived in response to the history of fatal crashes along the Abuja-Keffi Road.
He said the flyover was initially estimated at N11.1bn but had undergone an upward review after the Federal Ministry of Works directed an increase in bridge headroom to accommodate higher vehicles.
Mohammed said the adjustment also required the extension of the ramps beyond one kilometre.
He disclosed that more than N600m had been paid as compensation to affected property owners, while road furnishing was expected to cost another N1bn.
At Mararaba, Mohammed said a 2.6-kilometre continuous flyover was being constructed to address longstanding congestion and road safety challenges without disrupting commercial activities in the area.
“What is in Mararaba is a final solution to an attempt that defies so many approaches. But at the end of the day, we came up with the final solution, and that is to provide a continuous flyover of 2.6-kilometre-long that will fly over the challenging area without tampering with the business activities of the location,” he explained.
The project includes two pedestrian bridges and five additional pedestrian crossings.
Mohammed said the total cost, including compensation and road furnishing, was expected to reach between N43bn and N44bn.
He added that the project was expected to reduce travel time between Abuja and Keffi from more than two hours to less than 40 minutes when completed.
“At the end of the project, we are expecting about N43bn to N44bn as the total cost of the project, and that will enhance the economic activities of the area and the entire Nasarawa State because it will reduce the travel time from Abuja to Keffi from over two hours to less than 40 minutes,” he said.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Nasarawa State Governor, Ibrahim Addra, described the Keffi flyover as a project “born out of necessity”, citing previous incidents in which vehicles lost control and crashed into residential buildings along the corridor.
N17bn hospital expansion
The tour also covered healthcare infrastructure, with officials showcasing the ongoing expansion of the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital in Akwanga.
The pioneer Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Esla Abene, said the facility was being developed in three phases at a combined cost of more than N17bn for the first two phases.
The first phase, estimated at N6bn, includes expanded obstetric, paediatric and emergency units, a dedicated infectious disease and isolation centre for diseases such as Lassa fever, and an intensive care unit.
The second phase, costing almost N11bn, will include an administrative tower and multiple specialist clinics.
Abene said the third phase would introduce a trauma centre which he described as one of its kind in northern and central Nigeria.
The Presidency’s presentation of the projects comes as the Tinubu administration seeks to highlight infrastructure development and the impact of its economic reforms ahead of the 2027 general elections.
