‘This is not the first time Akwa Ibom will be left out of major federal road approvals under the Tinubu administration. Stakeholders say the recurring omission suggests a lack of aggressive lobbying or a de-prioritization of the South-South in federal infrastructure planning’
By Ime Silas
Outrage has trailed the exclusion of Akwa Ibom State from the 27 federal road projects worth “over N3.9 trillion” recently approved by President Bola Tinubu, with critics lampooning Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Governor Umo Eno for failing to secure federal infrastructure for the oil-rich state.
The presidency on Wednesday announced approvals for roads across 15 states: Adamawa, Benue, Cross River, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Taraba, and Yobe states. Akwa Ibom state was conspicuously absent from the list despite its position on the table of contributors to the country’s revenue.
The development has sparked heated debate in Uyo and on social media, with many questioning the political clout of Akwa Ibom’s top leaders at the federal level.
Senate President Akpabio, a former two-term governor of the state, and Governor Eno, both of the ruling APC are under fire for what critics call “political ineffectiveness” in lobbying Abuja.
N3.9trn Spread, But Not to Akwa Ibom
According to the breakdown released by the Ministry of Works, the bulk of the funding will go to massive corridor projects in the North and South West. The biggest single approval is “N1.8 trillion for the re-award of the 409-kilometre dual carriageway project in Niger State under the tax credit scheme to Aliko Dangote.”
Other major allocations include “N276 billion for the dualization of Ilorin-Ogbomoso Road” and “N265 billion for the reconstruction of Iseyin-Eruwa-Agbesi Road in Oyo State and Kwara State.”
Oyo State emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries with five projects totalling over N400 billion, including “N98 billion for the construction of 30km Idi-Araba-Ayede-Olodo Road” and “N82 billion for the rehabilitation of Igbeti Road.”
Kwara and Kogi will share “N104 billion for the rehabilitation of sections 1 and 2 of the Ilorin-Omorin-Ebe-Kabba-Obajana Road.”
In the South East, Ebonyi secured “N116 billion for the 21km Abakaliki-Afikpo Road” and “N86 billion for the reconstruction of Enugu-Abakaliki Road with a flyover.” Cross River was listed for “N86 billion for the Adikpo-Ajayi-Tese-Akpa-Otukpo Road in Benue and Cross River State.” Lagos got “N15.7 billion for the construction of Pacific Road linking Igbe Laara to Ikorodu,” with a further directive for “Full business case for the operation and maintenance concession for the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the directive to commence reconstruction of the failed sections of the Ibadan axis using concrete.”
Minister of Works, David Umahi, who announced the approvals, said the projects were aimed at improving connectivity and economic growth. He also updated on the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Highway, stating that “the first 118km section of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Highway, valued at N137 billion, has been completed, while work on the remaining 164km section is expected to be completed in November.”
“A Big Slap on Akwa Ibom People”
The absence of Akwa Ibom from the N3.9 trillion package has drawn sharp criticism. The state’s critical federal roads, including sections of the East-West Road, the Calabar-Itu-Odukpani Highway, and the Calabar-Itu-Ikot Ekpene federal corridor, have remained in deplorable condition for years.
An activist and commentator on contemporary issues in Uyo, Mr. Jackson Ekpo, described the exclusion as “a big slap on Akwa Ibom people”, saying: “You have the Senate President from this state, and we still could not get a single road in a N3.9 trillion rollout. What exactly is the use of that influence in Abuja if our federal roads are not captured?”
Another commentator lampooned both Akpabio and Governor Eno, arguing that political alignment should translate to tangible projects.
“Sen. Akpabio is the number three citizen, Governor Eno is working closely with the centre. Yet Cross River got a joint project with Benue while Akwa Ibom got nothing. The people deserve an explanation,” Stephen Umoren he said.
The criticism has been amplified online, with hashtags calling out the Senate President and Governor trending across the state on Wednesday evening.
Pattern of Exclusion?
This is not the first time Akwa Ibom will be left out of major federal road approvals under the Tinubu administration. Stakeholders say the recurring omission suggests a lack of aggressive lobbying or a de-prioritization of the South-South in federal infrastructure planning.
The approved list also includes “N83 billion for the Jimeta-Mayo Belwa Road project in Adamawa State,” “N62.99 billion for the Tungo-Karamti Road with 5 bridges between Adamawa and Taraba States,” and “N15 billion for the augmentation for a 32.2-kilometre road project in Gashua, Yobe State, which was originally awarded in 2022.”
Other interventions include “N92 billion for the rehabilitation of Baban-Lamba-Sharan phase 2 Road in Plateau State” and “N34 billion for the 18km Ikere-Ekiti-Ijare Road in Ekiti State and Ondo State.”
Silence from Government House and NASS
As of press time, neither the office of the Senate President nor Akwa Ibom State Government House had issued an official statement on the matter. Calls to aides of both leaders were not answered.
Political analysts say the silence may not hold for long, as pressure mounts on Akpabio to explain how Akwa Ibom was bypassed while Cross River, his neighbouring state, made the list. “Constituents will demand accountability,” an Uyo-based analyst noted, maintaining that “You cannot be Senate President and watch your state miss out repeatedly without pushing back.”
Defenders of the administration argue that project selection is based on technical, traffic, and funding readiness, particularly under the tax credit and concession models. But critics insist that politics and representation must also count.
With “N46 billion for the Amasiri–Okporojo Road” and “N21 billion for the flyover bridge at Oko-Olowo Junction in Kwara” making the cut, many in Akwa Ibom are asking what will it take for their own federal roads to be prioritized.
For now, the N3.9 trillion windfall has gone to 15 other states, leaving Akwa Ibom to grapple once again with decaying federal roads and questions about the effectiveness of its top political representation at the centre.
