• projects give South-East reason to back president in 2027 – Ex-Ebonyi Commissioner

Presidential aides responsible for community engagement across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones have endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, citing infrastructure projects and economic reforms despite public complaints about poor roads and economic hardship.

The aides, who also serve as zonal directors of the Presidential Campaign Council’s Infrastructure Mobilisation and Sensitisation Directorate, made their position known at a media briefing in Abuja, where journalists questioned whether their support reflected the concerns of ordinary Nigerians.

The North-Central representative, Abiodun Essiet, defended the administration’s record by citing the 401-kilometre Bida-Lambata-Mokwa Road, valued at N1.8 trillion, as a response to a longstanding demand.

“Do you know how many people have died trying to manoeuvre that road?” she asked.

Essiet said more than 167 kilometres of road projects had been completed in the North-Central, with about 1,207 kilometres under construction. She listed the Abuja-Lokoja Road, Keffi Bridge and Lafia Bypass among the projects, and disclosed that a citizen assembly of more than 700 people had been established to relay community concerns to the Presidency.

“Yes, we are talking for our elections. Yes, we are talking for our people,” she said, adding that some problems raised by residents fell within local governments’ responsibilities.

In the South-East, Chioma Nweze said federal infrastructure investment had increased under Tinubu, contrasting the current administration with her experience as a commissioner in Ebonyi State.

“In the last government, I was a commissioner in Ebonyi State. In the whole of Ebonyi State, we did not have any federal project that was ongoing,” she said.

Nweze said more than 1,000 kilometres of roads were under construction across the region, including the Enugu-Onitsha, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Enugu-Abakaliki roads. She also cited the proposed Ndibe Beach Bridge and plans involving the South-East Development Commission and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to expand household gas distribution.

“We are not yet there, but we see this as a step,” she said.

South-South representative Gift Johnbull highlighted the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the East-West Road and the Benin-Agbor and Benin-Warri-Sapele routes. She said a road linking Port Harcourt to Opobo would improve access for communities that had relied on boat transportation.

“When people say that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is impossible, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said, ‘Yes, it is possible, and it can be done,’” she said.

Johnbull said the projects strengthened the case for continuity, declaring: “The people of the South-South are 100 per cent with Tinubu.”

In the North-West, Abdullahi Tanko Yakasai reported that the Kano section of the Kano-Kaduna Road had been completed, while the Kaduna-Kano railway project was about 95 per cent complete. He also cited the proposed 1,068-kilometre Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, intended to improve connections between farming communities and markets.

“We thank Mr President for continuing with this legacy project,” he said.

Yakasai added that solar street lighting, planned highway security infrastructure and proposed monorail projects in Kano and Kaduna formed part of the administration’s interventions.

North-East representative Abdullahameed Abba pointed to road projects linking Akwanga to Jos and Jos to Gombe, as well as routes towards the Cameroon border. He also praised interventions in education, health and water resources.

“We assure you the people of the North-East, coming 2027, we are going to come out massively and vote for him, for him to continue his wonderful job in the North-East region,” Abba said.

In the South-West, Moremi Ojudu focused on local government autonomy, arguing that it would give councils greater scope to develop their communities. She cited the Third Mainland Bridge, Apapa-Oshodi Expressway and Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and said 47.7 kilometres of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway had been completed.

“The local government autonomy has placed our communities, our local governments, in an advantaged position wherein the chairmen own and can develop projects,” she said.

“Our president has put in the work. Our president has done brilliant reforms in our regions,” Ojudu added, urging state and local governments to complement federal interventions.

The aides also faced questions about whether they were adequately capturing public concerns amid economic hardship. Essiet said they visited communities and conveyed feedback to the Presidency. She defended tax exemptions for smaller businesses and argued that removing the fuel subsidy had increased allocations to the three tiers of government.

Another representative said the aides held town-hall meetings and inspected projects to explain government policies and gather residents’ views.

While acknowledging that more work remained, the aides maintained that infrastructure development and economic reforms justified their support for Tinubu’s second-term bid. Their statements form part of the political mobilisation around the 2027 election, with regional projects serving as the central argument for continuity.