Buhari Commissions Major Projects: A Final Chapter of Transformation

With just a few days left in office, President Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned the Second Niger Bridge and 6 other legacy projects completed by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing across the country.  

The development was confirmed in a tweet by the Special Assistant to the President on Digital Communications, Bashir Ahmad. Revealing that the Governors in the South-East agreed to name the Second Niger Bridge after President Muhammadu Buhari, he wrote, “The Second Niger Bridge is to officially be called/known as Buhari Second Niger Bridge. The Muhammadu Buhari Bridge is officially commissioned today, by President Muhammadu Buhari. #PMBLegacy.”

The 6 other major projects include 3 major bridges, 3 Federal Secretariats and a road. These projects come as part of the determination of Buhari’s administration to upgrade and expand the nation’s stock of infrastructure.

Recall that the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, had stated that the Second Niger Bridge, one of the legacy projects of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration will be fully open to traffic in May.

What you need to know about the projects

The construction of the Second Niger Bridge began in 2016 with the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF). Also, the new Loko-Oweto Bridge is 200 metres longer than the Second Niger Bridge. The bridge will reduce travel time and cost and greatly enhance the ease of doing business.

Another project is the New Ikom Bridge located on a major South-North arterial highway. Speaking at the virtual commissioning of the Ikom Bridge, Buhari said, “This is our commitment to upgrade, renew and expand Nigeria’s infrastructure. We do not act on infrastructure by accident. in 8 years, I am proud to say, that we have doubled Nigeria’s stock of infrastructure to gross domestic product GDP from about 20 per cent to over 40 per cent.”

Ikom Bridge was constructed to cater for heavy-duty vehicles along the project corridor as well as enable the Calabar Sea Port, Airport, and Free Trade Zone to be fully functional and accessible to traffic from the strategic North East.

The Road project is the completed section of the over 200 kilometres of the Kano-Kaduna Dual Carriage Expressway. The three new Federal Secretariats are located in Awka, Anambra State, Gusau, Zamfara State, and Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.