President Bola Tinubu has approved the construction of the Sokoto-Badagry Highway, which will traverse Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos states.
He disclosed this while approving the immediate rollout of the National Construction and Household Support Programme to cover all geopolitical zones in the country.
The programme will boost agricultural productivity, strengthen the economy by creating opportunities in the real sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, and construction, as well as provide urgent economic relief for Nigerians.
Speaking during the National Economic Council (NEC), meeting on Thursday in Abuja, Tinubu urged state governors to work together to meet the needs of citizens, stating that he is willing to provide the needed support to ensure that Nigerians are relieved of hardship.
Under the programme, the Sokoto-Badagry Highway, which will traverse Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos, is prioritised.
Other road infrastructure projects, such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which is underway, and the Trans-Saharan Highway, which links Enugu, Abakaliki, Ogoja, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Abuja, are also prioritised.
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The President has also approved full counterpart financing for the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Railway to traverse Rivers, Abia, Enugu, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Borno, as well as the Ibadan-Abuja segment of the Lagos-Kano Standard-Gauge Railway, which will traverse Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Niger, Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano.
The Sokoto-Badagry Highway project is specially prioritised for its importance, as some of the states it will traverse are strategic to the agricultural sustainability of the nation.
Within the Sokoto-Badagry Highway corridor, there are 216 agricultural communities, 58 large and medium dams spread across six states, seven Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones, 156 local government areas, 39 commercial cities and towns, and over one million hectares of arable land.
While emphasising the urgency of boosting food production, the President noted: “Sokoto-Badagry Highway is a pivotal project as the states within this axis form the food belt of the nation, with Badagry being an important artery for food export.
“Our states must work together to deliver on the critical reforms required of us to meet the needs of our people. Time is humanity’s most precious asset. You can never have enough of it. It is getting late.
“We are ready and able to support you in the form of the mechanisation of your agricultural processes and the provision of high-quality seedlings.”
