Don’t Live in Denial, Appreciate Tinubu, Umahi Tells South-East

Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has urged people in the South-East to acknowledge the infrastructure projects being executed by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Umahi made the call while speaking at the 10th anniversary celebration of De Pinnacle Club International at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja.

The minister, who received an Award of Excellence in Public Service and Infrastructural Transformation at the event, said political differences should not prevent Nigerians from recognising tangible developments.

“We shouldn’t live in denial. We have to appreciate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; even God Almighty appreciates gratitude. It doesn’t stop us from asking for more,” Umahi said.

He pointed to several major projects in the South-East as evidence of what he described as renewed attention to infrastructure in the region.

According to him, the projects include the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, Eke-Obinagu Flyover, New Artisan Bridge and Enugu-Abakaliki Road.

He also mentioned the Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue-Nasarawa-Abuja Superhighway and access roads leading to the Second Niger Bridge.

Umahi explained that although the Second Niger Bridge was completed before Tinubu assumed office, poor access roads had limited its economic benefits.

“We had the Second Niger Bridge fully completed before President Tinubu came into office, but the means of fully utilising the bridge, which is the access roads, was bad. So we are now building the access roads,” he said.

The minister disclosed that work on the Anambra section of the access road had reached about 40 per cent, while the Asaba axis stood at approximately 35 per cent.

He also described the Lagos-Shagamu Road as an important route for travellers moving from Lagos through Ogun and Edo towards Asaba and other parts of the country.

Umahi further argued that the Tinubu administration had demonstrated greater inclusion of the South-East through political appointments.

He cited the appointment of an Igbo as Chief of Air Staff and the emergence of ministers of Foreign Affairs and Works from the region as examples of what he described as unprecedented representation.

The minister also disclosed that the Federal Government had begun interventions to protect the First Niger Bridge from vandalism.

He said he received reports through social media that scrap scavengers were removing bolts and expansion metals from the bridge.

Umahi said the government had responded and would install closed-circuit television cameras and control points on the bridge.

He explained that the measures would mirror arrangements on Lagos’ Third Mainland Bridge and help curb vandalism while improving safety.

The event, themed “A Decade of Excellence, Legacy and Impact,” attracted the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu; businessman Obi Cubana; Chief Kenneth Ifekudu; Ambassador Elijah Onyeagba and other dignitaries.

De Pinnacle Club International said the award to Umahi recognised his promotion of concrete road technology, stronger accountability and faster execution of federal highway projects under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Umahi dedicated the honour to Tinubu as well as engineers and contractors involved in road construction and other infrastructure projects across the country.