The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has placed the economic revival of Nigeria’s South East region at the heart of its Renewed Hope Agenda, with a clear commitment to transform key transport corridors and unlock the region’s industrial potential.
This revelation was made during the President’s State Visit to Abia State, where he commissioned the Port Harcourt Road and seven other road clusters in Aba on October 3, 2025. The President was represented by the Honourable Minister of Works, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON, who reaffirmed the Federal Government’s determination to restore Aba and the South East as vital engines of national economic growth.
According to Umahi, Abia State occupies a central place in the nation’s development agenda, and its transformation is pivotal to achieving Nigeria’s vision of inclusive prosperity.
“Let me assure you that Abia State is very important in the economic development of our nation. Presently, we are completing the 56 kilometres dualised Umuahia–Aba Road, costing us Sixty-Six Billion Naira (₦66,000,000,000.00), executed by gallant contractors.
”Let me tell you that on the Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene 49 kilometres road, we have completed 14 kilometres, and at the request of the Governor of Abia State, we have handed over the remaining 35 kilometres to him to complete for the benefit of the people.
”The famous Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway and the Akwa Ibom axis will pass through this very important Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene Road, which means that when completed, in five hours, you will be in Lagos,” he said.
The Minister further disclosed that significant progress has been recorded on other key roads in the region.
“The Ikot Ekpene–Aba road, which is 48 kilometres by two, has recorded 50 kilometres fully completed—one full carriageway and a half—costing Sixty-Five Billion Naira (₦65,000,000,000). Work has already been directed to commence on the second carriageway,” Umahi revealed.
“The once impossible Port Harcourt–Aba road, 43 kilometres long, has one carriage fully completed. In just 15 minutes from Aba, you will be in Port Harcourt. And I know very well that a lot of Aba people do business in Onne Port Complex.
The 15 kilometres of the single carriageway of the double carriageway is fully completed, meaning you can now take off from Aba and, in 30 minutes, be at Onne Port,” he added.
Umahi commended the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, OFR, for his outstanding infrastructural transformation and visionary leadership, describing him as “a sound economist and a very experienced personality.”
“I commend your Governor very highly. I have listened to his developmental plans, and I know your Governor before now — he is a sound economist and very experienced personality. I have no doubt that through him, Aba has recovered its lost glory,” Umahi stated.
In his address of welcome, Governor Alex Otti lauded President Tinubu for his unprecedented support to the South East, especially in restoring critical infrastructure that drives trade, productivity, and investment.
“I would like to thank the Federal Government for its extensive support in the restoration of Aba’s advantage as a commercial and industrial community, especially with the ongoing reconstruction and rehabilitation of long-abandoned federal highways passing through and leading into the city.
”It is to the eternal credit of the present federal administration that Aba now welcomes hundreds of thousands of customers each week from Port Harcourt and other parts of Rivers State following the reconstruction of parts of the Aba–Port Harcourt Expressway from Alaoji.
”Businesses in Aba are also experiencing a surge in patronage from our brothers and sisters in Ikot Ekpene, Uyo, Calabar, and other parts of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States who now access the city with little hassle following the rehabilitation of the Aba–Ikot Ekpene Federal Highway,” the Governor said.
Governor Otti described Aba as a symbol of the resilient spirit and entrepreneurial energy of the South East, reiterating his administration’s commitment to investing in projects that empower the people and stimulate prosperity.
He also thanked President Tinubu for appointing Sen. Umahi as Minister of Works, describing him as “a round peg in a round hole” whose passion and dedication are driving the Renewed Hope road revolution.
The roads commissioned by the President included the Reconstruction of Port Harcourt Road, Ohanku, Ndoki, Ajiwe, Umuatako, Gabriel Nwosu, Nkoro, and People’s Roads — all regarded as critical economic arteries for Abia’s commercial revival.
“Through these projects, Aba is once again reclaiming its place as the heartbeat of enterprise in Nigeria,” Otti declared.
Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda Targets South East Economic Rebirth — Umahi
