By Iyiola Olalere
The Democratic Front (TDF) has hailed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for linking the South East geopolitical zone to huge trade opportunities through the ongoing construction of the 123.6 kilometres superhighway.
The highway stretching from Eboyin State, through the South South, to Benue, Kogi, and Nasarawa States in the North Central, cost N668 billion.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Mallam Danjuma Muhammad, and Secretary, Chief Wale Adedayo, it described the decision to open the region to international trade opportunities as a display of deep insight.
It said: “Although the superhighway is not the only road currently under construction in the region, the scale and huge cost of the project, coupled with the economic relevance of that corridor to the people and commerce of the South East, make it one of the most important infrastructural projects ever implemented by any government in the region.
“It is interesting to hear from Minister of Works, David Umahi, that the superhighway was a colonial-era infrastructural dream that was abandoned by successive administrations in the country, due to lack of funds and the political will for implementation.
“In addition to its economic and trade relevance to the South East region, the highway will ease interstate vehicular movements for commuters, and promote social and cultural interactions among Nigerians of different socio-cultural groups and creeds in the connected states.”
TDF is of the opinion that President Tinubu has made the development of the South East a major priority of his government from the very beginning.
“We recall that the President graciously established the South East Development Commission (SEDC), alongside other regional development commissions in the country, and also mobilised the SEDC with the sum of N140 billion, as an initial take-off grant, to tackle the developmental challenges that were not addressed by Gen. Gowon’s post-civil war programme of Reconciliation, Reconstruction, and Rehabilitation of 1970 till date.
“We find it important to equally note that the South East has been in the forefront of regional agitations for federal attention, since the Nigerian civil war ended in 1970.
“The slew of multi-developmental interventions, which the region has witnessed under the Tinubu administration in the last three years, has remarkably surpassed the efforts of every other government in the past.
“To this end, we commend President Tinubu for a dispassionate and equitable spread of developmental projects across all the regions, regardless of political affiliations.
“This developmental stride could not have been achieved without the President’s Renewed Hope Reforms, which have led to the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of multiple foreign exchange rates.
“We call on the good people of South-Eastern Nigeria to continue to support the government of President Tinubu, so that the ongoing construction of the Trans-Sahara Superhighway, and other lofty projects in the region can be completed in good time,” it added.
End