Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has approved 27 major road projects valued at more than 3.9 trillion naira ($2.5bn; £1.6bn) across 15 states, as the government attempts to fix the country’s notoriously crumbling transport network.
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, announced the infrastructure drive following a Federal Executive Council meeting in the capital, Abuja.
The multi-trillion-naira approvals cover a vast geographic area, spanning states including Lagos, Oyo, Niger, Plateau, Benue, and Yobe.
The largest single contract—worth 1.8 trillion naira—was re-awarded to the business empire of Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote. Under a government tax credit scheme, the billionaire’s firm will build a 409-kilometre (254-mile) dual carriageway in Niger State.
Key project breakdowns
The funding covers a mixture of brand-new highway construction, dualisation of existing arterial routes, and the rehabilitation of severely damaged roads. Some of the major allocations include:
- Ilorin-Ogbomoso Road: N276 billion for dualisation, linking Kwara and Oyo states.
- Iseyin-Eruwa-Agbesi Road: N265 billion for reconstruction.
- Abakaliki-Afikpo Road: N116 billion for a 21-kilometre stretch in Ebonyi State.
- Enugu-Abakaliki Road: N86 billion for reconstruction, including a new flyover.
The government also approved the business framework for a private concession to operate and maintain the heavily congested Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Crucially, the minister noted that failed sections of the road near Ibadan would be rebuilt using concrete pavement to ensure longevity.
Infrastructure deficit
Nigeria’s road network has suffered from decades of underinvestment, corruption, and poor maintenance, leaving many major interstate routes riddled with potholes and prone to security risks.
The poor state of the roads routinely drives up the cost of moving goods, fuelling inflation in Africa’s most populous nation.
Mr Umahi insisted progress was finally being made, announcing that the first 118-kilometre section of the vital Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Highway—a project worth 137 billion naira—had now been completed.
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