Promises in Concrete and Asphalt: Tracking the Tinubu Effect in the South-East -By Fredrick Nwabufo

Infrastructure development is evidently a desideratum for Nigeria. The country’s infrastructure gap is estimated at $2.3 trillion, with $100 billion required annually if we are to close the deficit. Years ago, infrastructure development had primarily been top-down, solely driven by the national government, but that is changing under the Renewed Hope Charter of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Democracy is essentially about the people. It finds expression not in abstracts but in tangibles—in the people’s quality of life, their freedoms, and the benefits and accruals of governance. Where the people do not feel the impact of governance, where economic opportunities are slim, and where politics does not align with economics, democracy is undermined.

And where can the people get a better whiff of governance if not at that critical cellular level of administration—the grassroots—in the states and the local governments?

The recent Renewed Hope National Media Tour of the South-East zone makes a compelling argument for the democratization of opportunities, vision, government-to-government synergy, and disciplined leadership. The South-East is witnessing a wholesale infrastructure transformation. From Enugu and Abia to Ebonyi, one filament connects them all in concrete, asphalt, and economic opportunity: leadership.

In keeping with his promise to accelerate infrastructure development across the six geopolitical zones, President Tinubu initiated four legacy highway projects: the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Superhighway, the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, the Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue-Abuja Superhighway, and the Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe Road. These are not just road projects but bifunctional catalysts that will boost economic activity, promote investment, and deepen integration within these corridors.

In the “seeing is believing” tour, the Presidential Media Team and over 50 editors, led by Chief Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, and Chief Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Communication, visited several federal and state projects across Ebonyi, Enugu, and Abia.

In Ebonyi, the team visited the Abakaliki-Afikpo Flyover, a section of the Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue-Abuja Superhighway. The project, worth over N440 billion, is currently in progress. The team also visited other federal projects, such as the Ndibe Bridge, which connects Ebonyi and Cross River, as well as the N35 billion Onueke Flyover, alongside inspecting various state projects across health, education, and housing.

Governor Francis Nwifuru did not hold back his gratitude to the President, boldly declaring that infrastructure development in the state has been achieved through the support and leadership of President Tinubu.

In Enugu, the Presidential delegation inspected key federal projects, including the Eke-Obinagu Flyover, the Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway, rescoped sections of the Enugu–Onitsha Dual Carriageway, the Oncology Centre at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, and several projects undertaken by the state.

From smart green schools with advanced facilities where students are actively learning and innovating, to security, agriculture, aviation, and health, Enugu is an evolving governance success story.

I moderated an interactive session with Governor Peter Mbah, who elucidated the impact of President Tinubu’s legacy reforms on development in Enugu and, by extension, sub-national governments.

Governor Mbah put it in an unequivocal cadence: “I think it would have been impossible, to say the least, for us to have done things at this scale without some of the bold and courageous policies of the President. First of all, what the policies of the President did for subnational governments was largely to free up resources. I think the President has been very intentional in terms of how this $1 trillion economy is to be achieved; he believes strongly that this is not going to come from the top, but from the periphery. In order to achieve that, you have to strengthen the full intent of responsibility and capacity to act by providing them with financing.

“So, what we are seeing today at scale is only possible because we now have more funds coming from the federation, alongside a lot of support from the centre to the subnationals. For us, it is about making good use of that opportunity. That is essentially all we are doing. Whether you look at things from the removal of the subsidies, the unification of the foreign exchange rate, or the reforms in the tax sector, there are quite a whole lot of great initiatives. Now we are also looking at the NELFUND policy. This is something we are excited about because, typically, the list of scholarship applications we get is almost unimaginable. Today, we encourage them to access NELFUND, which frees up funds for us to do other things.”

The trail of transformative initiatives continued in Abia with landmark road projects, state-of-the-art bus terminals, electricity projects, housing, education, and healthcare projects.

The promises made by the President Tinubu-led administration are evident in the concrete and asphalt roads, the bridges, and the economic opportunities opening up in the South-East. The administration remains committed to protecting the principles of the charter governing citizens and the tiers of government, fostering cohesion and synergy to build an efficient, performance-driven governance system that works for every Nigerian.

Fredrick Nwabufo is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement