Rewriting Nigeria’s Roads infrastructure story: The Tinubu Blueprint

…..as FG  flagg-off Gombe–Biu Super Highway, 

By Onu Okorie

For decades, Nigeria’s infrastructure landscape has been littered with ambitious blueprints that never materialized grand highway projects announced with fanfare, only to gather dust in government archives. Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that narrative is changing, one groundbreaking at a time.

The latest proof came, when the Federal Government flagged off the Gombe–Biu Super Highway, a critical segment of the sprawling Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe–Biu–Maiduguri Dualization Project. Stretching approximately 700 kilometres through the heart of Nigeria’s Northeast, the corridor represents far more than asphalt and concrete — it is a statement of intent from an administration that has staked its legacy on transforming the country’s infrastructure deficit.

Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Umahi, captured the significance of the moment with striking candour at the flag-off ceremony in Gombe State.

“I was shocked when the Governor traced back the history of this project,” he admitted, “how past governments attempted it, but it remained a dot in a circle.”

That phrase, a dot in a circle speaks volumes about Nigeria’s infrastructure history. Projects conceived, funded on paper, and abandoned. The Gombe–Biu corridor fits that mold precisely. Yet today, construction giant HITECH Construction Company, selected through a competitive procurement process that saw off five rival bidders, has been handed the mandate to finally bring the project to life, with Umahi pledging visible work on the ground within 30 days.

What makes the Tinubu infrastructure agenda compelling is not any single project, but the pattern emerging across the country’s map.

Consider the roll call of long-stalled projects now under active development:

The Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, first dreamed up during the Shagari administration roughly fifty years ago, is now being actualized. The Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, a vision Tinubu himself harboured nearly three decades ago, is moving from concept to construction. And now, the Akwanga–Maiduguri Corridor linking the North Central, North East, and beyond is being delivered.

Each of these projects carries the weight of generational disappointment. Each is now finding new life under the same administration.

The development conversation around the Gombe–Biu Super Highway quickly extended beyond roads. Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya framed the project squarely within his state’s broader economic ambitions, noting that the highway would directly service Gombe’s livestock and agricultural industrial zone, linking primary production to national and regional trade networks.

“The livestock and agricultural zone will connect directly to the Super Highway, linking economic activities to critical infrastructure and opening up new opportunities for trade and investment,” the Governor said.

This is the multiplier logic that infrastructure advocates have long championed: roads don’t just move vehicles — they move goods, people, capital, and opportunity. In a state like Gombe, where agriculture anchors livelihoods, a modern highway transforms the economics of farming from subsistence to commercial scale.

Governor Yahaya assured the Federal Government, contractors and stakeholders of the state’s full support throughout the execution of the project.

“On behalf of the Government and people of Gombe State, I assure you that the security of your personnel, equipment, and machinery is guaranteed throughout the duration of the project.”

Managing Director of HITECH Construction Company, Engr. Dany Abboud, assured stakeholders that the company would deliver the project according to the highest international standards.

“We will execute this project to the highest international standards, as I have previously assured Your Excellencies. We will mobilize all necessary resources to ensure its successful delivery.”

He also pledged to create employment opportunities for host communities, particularly young people.

“We are also committed to creating employment opportunities and empowering as many people as possible from the host communities, particularly the youth.”

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, Senator Allwell H. Onyesoh, commended President Tinubu’s commitment to infrastructure development and called on Nigerians to support the administration.

“We know we’ll be coming here often considering the so many federal projects here. And I want to appeal to all of you to support Mr. President. He’s doing very wonderfully for the nation.”

“Forget about induced insecurity that people are trying to bring to destabilize the country, but God will not allow it to work.”

Similarly, Chairman of the House Committee on Works, Hon. Akin Alabi, praised the partnership between the Executive and Legislature in delivering critical infrastructure projects across the country.

He commended HITECH Construction Company for its quality of work, timely delivery of projects and positive relationship with host communities, describing the company as a strong partner in Nigeria’s development.

“As legislators, we oversee appropriations and project funding. From what we have seen on the ground, the company has delivered work that shows commitment and value.”

The traditional ruler of Yamaltu Emirate, The Mai Tangle and Chairman of the Gombe State Council of Chiefs, Dr. Danladi Sanusi Maiyamba III expressed appreciation to President Tinubu, the Federal Ministry of Works and all stakeholders involved in the project. He also pledged the full support of his people toward the successful execution of the highway.

A significant portion of the road within Gombe State passes through the Yamaltu Emirate, and the monarch assured contractors of a peaceful and conducive environment throughout the construction period.

Dignitaries at the flag-off ceremony included Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi, Senator Ede Dafinone; Senator Anthony Yaro; Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Works, Hon. Usman Banye; Hon. Ajilosoro; Hon. Inuwa Garba; Hon. Alex; SSA-President Community Development (North East); SSA to President Community Development (SouthEast), Barr. Chioma Nweze, traditional rulers; government officials; representatives of HITECH Construction Company; and other stakeholders from across the country.

HITECH’s Managing Director, Engr. Dany Abboud, reinforced this dimension by committing to local employment creation, particularly for young people in host communities — a pledge that, if honoured, would mean the construction phase itself delivers economic dividends before a single vehicle rolls on the completed road.

Umahi was characteristically blunt in his broader assessment of the administration’s direction. “The macroeconomy is stabilized, the naira is stable, and we are descending the gains of the reforms to the micro level,” he said, framing infrastructure delivery as part of a wider stabilization story.

The road ahead both literally and figuratively remains long. Nigeria’s infrastructure gap is enormous, security challenges in the Northeast are real, and execution will ultimately be judged by delivery, not ceremony. But the flag-off of the Gombe–Biu Super Highway adds to a growing body of evidence that the Tinubu administration is serious about converting infrastructure ambition into physical reality.

For the people of Gombe, Borno, and the communities that line the 700-kilometre corridor, the promise is simple and profound: a road that connects them to each other, to markets, and to the rest of Nigeria a road that, for too long, existed only as a dot in a circle.

The Gombe–Biu Super Highway is part of the Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe–Biu–Maiduguri Dualization Project, awarded to HITECH Construction Company.