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Vice President Kashim Shettima has said the commissioning of the Kuje-Gwagwalada Dual Carriageway represents the delivery of the Renewed Hope Agenda to residents of satellite communities in the Federal Capital Territory, describing the project as a major boost for security, commerce and economic development.
While commissioning Phase One of the road project in Abuja, Shettima said the carriageway would transform transportation and improve the livelihoods of residents who have endured years of hardship along the route.
“Today, I am delighted to stand here in Kuje to commission Phase One of the Kuje-Gwagwalada Dual Carriageway,” he said.
The Vice President noted that the road holds both economic and strategic importance, recalling the challenges commuters and businesses faced before its reconstruction.
“The significance of the Kuje-Gwagwalada Dual Carriageway is both economic and geographical. For decades, this road was a death trap,” he said.
According to Shettima, traders, farmers, students and residents suffered significant losses due to the poor condition of the road.
“Traders from Kuje, Gwagwalada, Kwali and beyond lost time, goods and sometimes lives while plying this route. Criminals thrived in the darkness. Students of our institutions wasted hours in traffic. Farmers could not get their produce to market on time,” he stated.
He said the completion of the project marks the end of those challenges.
“But that story ends today,” Shettima declared.
Describing the infrastructure as more than a transportation project, he said the seven-kilometre dual carriageway would improve safety and economic activity in the area.
“This seven-kilometre dual carriageway with solar-powered streetlights, pedestrian walkways and proper drainage is more than a road. It is security. It is commerce. It is dignity,” he said.
The Vice President added that the road would serve as a vital economic corridor connecting Abuja to neighbouring area councils and southern Nigeria.
“It is the economic corridor linking Abuja to three area councils and opening an exit route to southern Nigeria,” he said.
“With the construction of this road, we have unlocked the agricultural potential of this area, opened new residential layouts and made it safer for mothers, students and workers to move at any hour.
“This is renewed hope delivered to the doorsteps of our people in the satellite towns.”
Shettima also praised the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for extending infrastructure development beyond Abuja’s city centre.
“I gave you an instruction when I appointed you: make Abuja work for all Nigerians, not just for those in Maitama and Asokoro,” he said.
According to him, the minister has demonstrated that development should reach all communities regardless of location.
“You have taken renewed hope to the grassroots, from judicial quarters in Katampe to roads in Kuje and Gwagwalada. You are proving that development must not be selective,” Shettima said.
“You heard the cries of satellite communities and you responded. That is leadership. Well done, Honourable Minister.”
The Vice President formally commissioned the project on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, describing it as another milestone in the administration’s infrastructure drive.
“To the glory of God and for the benefit of the people of the Federal Capital Territory and the entire people of Nigeria, it is my singular honour and privilege, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, to commission this Phase One of the Kuje-Gwagwalada seven-kilometre dual carriageway, making 14 kilometres in total,” he said.
