Tinubu says his administration is building a new Nigeria that serves everyone.

President Bola Tinubu said his administration is building the groundwork for a new Nigeria that benefits all citizens.

He made the comments on Tuesday while opening the construction of the two service carriageways of the Southern Parkway, running from Arterial Road S20 (Oladipo Diya Way) to Ring Road II in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

Represented by the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, the president noted that the reforms of the past three years have been tough but necessary.

He added, “The results are here – the roads, the bridges, the rails, and housing. We are laying the foundation for a new Nigeria that works – and works for all and for our common prosperity.”

“Stay with us, support us, and stand by the Renewed Hope Agenda. The best of Abuja and the best of Nigeria are still ahead of us,” he urged.

Tinubu said that, in line with the Abuja Master Plan, the completed road will improve vehicular circulation in the southern part of the city and provide essential inter‑district links across Phase I to Phase IV of the FCT.

He explained that the main carriageway, Bola Ahmed Tinubu Way, was inaugurated earlier by his administration, and that the service carriageways are not a luxury but will ease access.

The president highlighted that residents of Duste, Gudu, Gaduwa, Duboyi, and a housing estate in Phase II experience heavy traffic congestion daily on S2 (Abdulsalami Abubakar Way) and S20, especially during peak periods.

He said that once the service carriageways are finished, traffic will flow more freely, travel times will shorten, businesses will save money, and families will spend less time in transit.

“That is the dividend of democracy, and that is the renewed hope that you can feel and you can touch every day,” he said.

“This inauguration is part of the broader infrastructure revolution we promised Nigeria. In the last three years, we have refused to accept excuses; we choose actions,” he continued.

“From the Arterial Road N20, now Prof. Wole Soyinka Way, to N16 Interchange, linking Jahi and Gwarinpa, to the roads in Kuje, Gwagwalada, and Mabushi, the FCT is transforming before our eyes,” he added.

He praised FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, saying, “You have earned your name, ‘Mr Project.’”

“Most people thought that it was only in Rivers, but you’ve shown clearly that it’s your DNA to do projects always. Through your action, and not just talk alone, you’ve shown that truly, you are Mr Project. Since you assumed office, you have awakened the abandoned projects, you’ve set clear targets, and you’ve delivered them in record time.”

In his remarks, Wike said that the newly awarded contract would be affected by political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He assured that, politics or not, the FCT Administration would continue to work to reshape the capital city as directed by the President.

He added that the project will be completed and inaugurated in January 2027, assuring the contractor that the FCTA will meet its financial obligations.

“I want this job to be inaugurated before we go for the general elections in 2027,” he said.

The minister warned land grabbers who have begun development on the road corridor to stop and directed the acting director of development control to remove all illegal developments on the corridor.

“We have found out that each time we want to carry out construction, people who have not been genuinely allocated land will go in, forge documents, and begin to develop. It will not work,” he said.

He directed the director to liaise with the Director of Land to ensure that those who were not given land and had begun construction were doing so in vain.

“We will bring it,” Wike said.

Earlier, Mr. Richard Dauda, acting executive secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority, explained that the Southern Parkway is one of the major roads of the Southern Development Corridor of the city.

According to Dauda, the road begins from the Inner Southern Motorway (Goodluck Jonathan Motorway) in Phase I of the city from the Central Area and terminates at the same Inner Southern Motorway in Phase IV in the Southern Corridor of the city.

Tinubu explained that the Southern Parkway was a major road of the southern development corridor, which begins from the Inner Southern Motorway (ISEX) in Phase I and terminates at ISEX in Phase IV in the south. (NAN)