The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has said that the commitment of the Federal Government to infrastructure development across the country is already bearing results.
He spoke in Gashua, Yobe State, during the official inauguration and handover of the completed section I phase II and section II phase I of the Nguru-Gashua-Bayamari road.
The President, who was represented at the event by the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, was quoted in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, as saying, “Our commitment to improving road transport infrastructure, our determination to improve the ease of doing business, create jobs and prosperity to lift people out of poverty brings us here today because the results of our investment are manifesting.”
He explained that the road had been built to the highest quality of design and workmanship and if well used and not abused, it should last for the designed service life.
Buhari, according to the statement, assured Nigerians the Federal Government would complete all ongoing projects.
“I can confidently say that as we enter the final lap of the tenure of this administration, we are also entering a season of completion and delivery of projects,” he stated.
The President cautioned Nigerians to desist from road abuses and comply with the highway code, as he urged road users to adhere to the maximum 100 kilometres per hour speed limit on federal highways nationwide.
He outlined road abuses to include overloading of vehicles, which would accelerate pavement damage; spilling of petroleum products, as this would allow water to penetrate on the road; and converting the road shoulders to permanent parking places, which would bring the onset of road failure from the shoulder.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who was represented by the Director Highways, North-East, Celestine Shawusu, said the projects represented major investment in road transport infrastructure.
He said the projects were visible and incontrovertible assets in proof of what Nigeria’s resources were invested in, from a combination of the country’s earned resources and borrowings.
