Chidinma Iroegbu
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda received further boost as the Federal Capital Territory Administration commissioned the seven-kilometre access road linking Bill Clinton Drive to Tunga Madaki Settlement, improving connectivity and opening economic opportunities for residents.
Representing President Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the project reflected the administration’s commitment to delivering infrastructure that directly improves citizens’ lives, describing Tinubu as a leader focused on results.
Akpabio said communities that surrendered land for national projects must also benefit from development, noting that the new road connects residents to the city and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport corridor. “No citizen should be made a victim of national development,” he quoted the President as saying.
He commended FCT Minister Nyesom Wike for executing the project, saying the administration had moved beyond promises to visible achievements. “We did not promise miracles that would appear from thin air. We promised structural, calculated and deliberate progress,” Akpabio said.
Wike said the road was constructed after Tunga Madaki residents made basic requests instead of demanding excessive compensation following the development of the airport’s second runway.
The FCT Minister said the project had restored hope to a community that had struggled with poor access for years. “This community that had lost hope now has hope restored,” Wike said, adding that the road would serve more than 200,000 people.
Wike disclosed that the FCT Administration would continue expanding infrastructure to satellite towns, stressing that governance must address the challenges affecting ordinary citizens. He also warned against land grabbing along the newly completed corridor.
Head of Service, FCT, Mrs Nancy Sabanti Nathan, described the project as evidence of the Federal Government’s commitment to infrastructure development, connectivity and improved welfare of residents under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Nathan commended Tinubu, Wike, contractors, engineers, community leaders and stakeholders for their contributions to the successful completion of the Airport Second Runway bypass road.
The project, which includes a four-span bridge, is expected to ease traffic around the airport area, improve movement of goods and services, support farmers and businesses, and strengthen access between communities and the Federal Capital Territory.
The commissioning marked the seventh day of the FCT Administration’s 31-day projects commissioning programme celebrating infrastructure delivery across Abuja.