Vice President Kashim Shettima has inaugurated the 33.5km Elele-Umudioga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Akpabu-Ikiri-Omoku Dual Carriageway in Rivers State, constructed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara’’s administration.
The road, which runs through Ikwerre, Emohua and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government areas of the state, connects communities along an important agricultural, commercial and oil and gas corridor leading towards Omoku, widely regarded as the state’s “Gas City.”
Shettima, who inaugurated the road on Thursday on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, said the administration of President Tinubu is deliberately spreading infrastructure and economic opportunities beyond major cities to reduce congestion, expand jobs and promote balanced national development across Nigeria.
He stated that this is driven by the administration’s conviction that such state-driven projects are consistent with the Renewed Hope Agenda’s push to expand security, welfare and economic opportunity beyond the centre.
According to him, the completed road will help farmers move produce faster, reduce losses, lower logistics costs for businesses and open communities along the corridor to greater economic activity.
He said roads are among the most democratic instruments of development, noting that they connect farmers to markets, workers to jobs, students to schools and patients to healthcare.
He commended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, for completing the project, describing it as consistent with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Federal Government’s support for state-led investments that improve security, welfare and economic opportunities.
He also stressed the importance of continuity in governance, saying, “One administration lays a foundation, another strengthens it, and the people remain the final beneficiaries.”
The Vice President urged communities along the corridor to protect the infrastructure against vandalism and other activities capable of shortening its lifespan.
Speaking earlier, Governor Fubara said the 33.5-kilometre road, with a river crossing bridge, will improve security and ease the age-long suffering of the people of the three local government areas of Ikwere, Emohua and Ogba/Egbema /Ndoni.
He explained that in the past, the road was a corridor for kidnapping, oil bunkering, and other forms of criminality, assuring that with the commissioning of the road, insecurity will be a thing of the past along the road corridor.
Daily Trust
