PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria – Vice President Kashim Shettima has inaugurated a 33.5-kilometre dual carriageway in Rivers State, saying the project reflects President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s drive to spread infrastructure, jobs and economic opportunities beyond major urban centres.
Speaking at the commissioning on Thursday, Shettima said the Elele-Umudioga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Akpabu-Ikiri-Omoku Dual Carriageway was consistent with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and would improve connectivity across three local government areas.
The Okay News reports that the road passes through Ikwerre, Emohua and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government areas and connects communities along an agricultural, commercial and oil and gas corridor leading towards Omoku, known as the state’s “Gas City.”
Shettima said improved road infrastructure would help farmers transport their produce, reduce business logistics costs and create opportunities for communities along the route.
“A nation becomes congested when opportunity is congested. People move because roads, markets, jobs and services have not moved far enough towards them,” he said.
The Vice President described roads as essential tools for development, saying they connect farmers to markets, workers to jobs, students to schools and patients to healthcare.
Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara said the project would improve security and reduce the challenges previously faced by residents of the affected communities.
According to Fubara, the corridor had previously been associated with kidnapping, oil bunkering and other criminal activities. He said lighting installed along the road and increased security surveillance would help address insecurity.
The governor thanked President Tinubu and the Vice President for supporting the state government, describing the completion of the project as the fulfilment of a promise to Rivers residents.
Shettima urged residents to protect the road from vandalism and reckless use, stressing that preserving public infrastructure was a shared responsibility.
He also emphasised the importance of continuity in governance, saying successive administrations should build on existing projects so that citizens remain the ultimate beneficiaries.
