President Bola Tinubu on Thursday, declared that no Nigerian should be made to suffer in the name of national development, saying communities that sacrifice for public projects must also benefit from the gains of government.
The President spoke while commissioning the 7-kilometre access road bypassing the second runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport from Bill Clinton Drive to Tungan Madaki Settlement, alongside a four-span bridge in the Federal Capital Territory.
Represented by Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, the President said the road project was undertaken to address years of neglect suffered by residents of Tungan Madaki and neighbouring communities who surrendered land for the construction of the airport’s second runway but were left without basic road infrastructure.
According to him, the communities made a sacrifice for the nation’s development and should not have been left behind.
“When it became necessary to construct the Second Runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, a project vital to our national security and economic expansion, the original inhabitants of this area surrendered their ancestral lands. They sacrificed for the collective good of the nation.
“Yet, for years, the paradox remained. These patriotic communities gave up land for airplanes to fly, yet they had no motorable roads for their own feet and vehicles. They were cut off.”
The President said his administration was determined to correct that injustice.
“Let me state this clearly: no citizen should be made a victim of national development. When the Honourable Minister of the FCT, Barrister Nyesom Wike, brought this matter to my attention, my directive was clear and unequivocal: ‘Whatever the communities ask for to make their lives whole, give it to them’. We do not just take; we build, we replace, and we elevate. Today, we have fulfilled that solemn promise.”
Tinubu
The President described the road project as an economic lifeline that will improve connectivity, ease traffic congestion and open up new opportunities for residents.
“This 7-kilometer access road is not just an engineered strip of tar. It is an economic artery. By introducing an alternative route that beautifully bypasses the airport’s second runway, from Bill Clinton Drive to the Tungan Madaki settlement and further down to Zuba, we are achieving three critical objectives.”
He said the project would strengthen security around aviation facilities, reduce pressure on existing routes and unlock economic activities in surrounding communities.
Tinubu also said the four-span bridge was designed to ensure year-round access for farmers, schoolchildren and businesses.
“That is what the Renewed Hope Agenda means: reducing hardship by building infrastructure that works.”
The President commended the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for delivering the project within 16 months of its approval.
“Wike, you are ‘Mr. Project’, and you have not disappointed. In February 2025, I approved this project. You mobilized immediately. Today, barely 16 months later, this beautiful stretch of road is completed and ready for use. No excuses. No stories. Just delivery.”
On his part, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, explained that the project was initiated after residents of Tungan Madaki agreed to release land needed for the airport’s second runway and requested only two things from government, employment opportunities and access roads.
“The community did not say if you don’t put one billion Naira you will not come there. If you don’t give our youths money you will not come there. If you don’t pay a tithes to the Emirs and Chiefs you will not come there, just basic demand.”
The minister said the request exposed the level of deprivation faced by the community.
“The day we came to flag off this road sometimes last year, I never believed that we have this level of suffering of our people not having access to the city. Look at the international airport. This is their own community but they cannot come to the international airport.”
Wike said the Tinubu administration had changed the narrative by extending development beyond the city centre.
“The president is changing the narrative to say that it is not only in the city center, development should also be taken to the satellite towns and that is what we are doing today.”
He announced that work would continue on the extension of the road from Tungan Madaki to Zuba and expressed confidence that the project would be completed before the end of the year.
The minister also warned against illegal acquisition of land along the new corridor and assured residents that steps were being taken to secure their land rights through the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy.
