Senate urges FG to accommodate North-east in legacy road projects

The Senate on Wednesday called on the federal government to include states in the North-eastern region of the country in the Renewed Hope Legacy Road Infrastructure Projects of President Bola Tinubu.

The call was a sequel to a motion sponsored by Danjuma Goje (APC, Gombe Central) during the plenary.

The legacy road projects of the Tinubu administration are the Sokoto – Badagry Superhighway (SBS), connecting Sokoto (North-west) to Badagri (South-west); Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway (LCCH) (South-south) and Calabar – Ebonyi – Benue – Kogi – Nasarawa – Abuja Superhighway (South-west and North-central, respectively).

The roads will interconnect the country and bring unprecedented socio-economic growth as well as foster national unity and integration.

Mr Goje, a former Gombe governor and ex-minister of state for power and steel, in his motion, complained that the North-east was marginalised in the siting of the projects.

He stressed that the non-inclusion of the North-eastern states in the projects will further worsen the infrastructural challenges of the region.

The senator blamed banditry, terrorism, Boko Haram and other security challenges in the region on the lack of adequate road infrastructure networks.

Mr Goje also maintained that the marginalisation of the region in the siting of road projects will affect the economy of the country.

He, therefore, requested that President Tinubu accommodate the North-east in the road legacy projects.

The senator specifically wanted the federal government to include the Calabar-Makurdi-Jalingo-Yola-Maiduguri Highway in the project because “it will integrate the North-east into the road project”.

Contributions

Diket Plang (APC, Plateau Central) seconded the motion.

Mr Plang stressed that including the North-east in the road projects will improve the economy of the region.

He recalled that in 2016, the Federal Executive Council, under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, approved the construction of the road from Akwanga in Nasarawa State to Jos and Adamawa States, but it was not executed.

Simon Lalong (APC, Plateau South) also supported the motion.

“There is nowhere you can get to Abuja without passing through the Akwanga – Jos road. The best way to travel is to go by road because that is when you will meet and greet people. “ he added.

Responding, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, expressed gratitude to Mr Goje for sponsoring the motion.

“I want to thank the distinguished Senator Goje for bringing this motion. It is clear, “ he said.

The Senate president, after that, put the motion to vote, and the majority of the senators supported it through voice votes.

Mr Akpabio subsequently ruled accordingly.