.Says N’East will reciprocate gesture
Deji Elumoye in Abuja
Former Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, has hailed President Bola Tinubu for walking his talk on the reconstruction and dualization of the 125-kilometre Gombe-Biu highway.
The flag off of the project, valued at N1.245 trillion took place on Thursday in Liji, Gombe state, at an elaborate event which had the state Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi and the Managing Director of the construction firm, Hi-Tech Construction Company, Mr. Danny Abboud in attendance.
Ndume in a statement personally signed by him on Saturday commended President Tinubu and the Minister of Works, David Umahi for redeeming their pledges to put the road in good shape for the ultimate benefit of people of the North East states.
The Borno South Senator recalled his several efforts under previous administrations to draw federal government attention to the appaling condition of the road but met a stiff resistance in very high quarters.
According to him:” In 2019, during a a high-level engagement with the then Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, which I initiated, I expressed concerns regarding the deplorable condition of the Biu–Gombe Road, emphasizing its strategic significance to economic integration, inter-state mobility, security operations, and regional development within the North-East subregion.
“Also in July 2021, during an engagement with the Ministry of Works, during deliberations connected to national infrastructure financing frameworks, including projects tied to African Development Bank-supported facilities, I also made presentation on the urgent need to include the Biu–Gombe corridor within federal rehabilitation priorities, strategic funding windows, and long-term infrastructure development frameworks.
” It is heart warming to note that my interaction with the present Minister of Works, Dave Umahi in a letter dated February 11, 2026, in which I drew his attention to the exclusion of the Biu/ Damboa/ Maiduguri all in Borno state in the 2026 Budget Four Legacy Projects of the present administration finally paid off as the Federal Executive Council (FEC) eventually approved the Biu–Gombe Road project under the federal tax credit and infrastructure intervention framework.
“The project was subsequently captured among strategic national road interventions financed through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) tax liabilities arrangement.”
Highlighting the significance of the road project already flagged off, the ranking Senator declared that the rehabilitation and dualisation of the highway is strategic to the entire North Eastern part of the country as it would serve as a vital economic and social corridor, connecting the region to other parts of the country and neighbouring West African countries.
While appreciating the effort of the President in rehabilitating the road, Ndume assured that the people of the North East will appreciate Tinubu’s gesture by voting for him during the January, 2027 presidential poll.
His words: “I want to appreciate Mr. President for listening to my calls. It is a laudable project that will unlock economic opportunities and improve the quality of life for Nigerians.
“Like Oliver Twist, we want to appeal to President Tinubu to extend the road network not only to Biu, but to Maiduguri and up to Monguno and Ngala and then down to Yola. “Those are very critical roads that go down to the border that will also promote inter- country trade and also help in the fight against insurgency because they always take advantage of the bad road to block people and kidnap travelers on that road.
“I am sure that the people of the North East will appreciate this gesture of Mr. President and reward him with their votes in the forthcoming general elections.”
