Senate asks FG to include North East in ‘legacy road projects’

The Senate on Wednesday asked the federal government to further expand the ‘renewed hope legacy road infrastructure projects’ in the country to include the North-East region.

It specifically asked the ministry of works to include the Calabar-Makurdi-Jalingo-Yola-Maiduguri Highway, which will integrate the North-East into the’ ‘legacy infrastructure road projects’ in the country.

This was sequel to a motion sponsored by a former minister and ex-governor of Gombe State, Senator Goje Mohammed Danjuma (Gombe Central).

Senator Danjuma said all other geo-political zones were captured in the ‘renewed hope legacy road infrastructure projects’ except the North-East region.

He argued that the exclusion of the North-East geo-political zone from the whole equation, had stimulated concerns and agitations from the region in view of the strategic roles the projects will play in the country, hence the need to include the zone.

The Senator also said the non-inclusion of the North-East which is composed of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno Gombe, Taraba and Yobe, has raised a myriad of concerns about “unequal development and potential marginalisation” of the region, which he argued would further worsen the infrastructural challenges of the zone.

In the motion, Senator Danjuma said, “These landmark projects, which are made up of the Sokoto – Badagry Superhighway (SBS), connecting Sokoto (North-West) to Badagri (South-West); Lagos – Calabar Costal Highway (LCCH) (South-South); and Calabar – Ebonyi – Benue – Kogi – Nasarawa – Abuja Superhighway (South-East and North-Central, respectively), were designed in line with the current administration’s commitment towards actualising the vision of making Nigeria the largest economy in Africa.

“However, the North-East is the only zone not included in these laudable projects. The security situation of the region has been further exacerbated due to lack of adequate road infrastructure networks that make it to be susceptible and exposed to all manner of security challenges, ranging from insurgency, banditry, among others.

“The non-inclusion of the region will not augur well for the socio-economic development of this country, as the economic viability and opportunities that abound in the region will not be fully tapped to the maximum benefit of the country.”

Supporting the motion, Senator Diket Plang (Plateau Central) said he has a similar motion, but urged the Senate that he has collapsed his motion into Senator Danjuma’s motion.

Senator Simon Lalong (APC, Plateau South) and other senators who contributed, all supported the motion.

The Senate President Godswill Akpabio who presided over the plenary said, “This is calling on Mr. President to add this road as his renewed hope legacy project. This motion is appreciated and accepted.”