ABUJA, Nigeria— President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate reconstruction of three major federal roads in Niger State and the extension of the Bodo-Bonny Road in Rivers State, according to a statement issued late Thursday by the Ministry of Works. The roads approved for reconstruction in Niger are the Mokwa-Bida Road (120km), Mokwa-Makeri Road (63km) and Bida-Labata Road (123.5km), for a combined length of 306.5 kilometres, the ministry said in a statement signed by Works Minister David Umahi’s media aide, Francis Nwaze. The projects will be rebuilt using reinforced concrete pavement, which the government says is intended to improve durability and long-term value.
The statement also said Tinubu approved an extension of the Bodo-Bonny Road to connect it directly with the East-West Road, a move the government says will strengthen transport links in the Niger Delta. Earlier ministry briefings this month said the extension covers about 8.7 kilometres and will be executed as a dual carriageway with concrete pavement and solar-powered street lighting through a competitive bidding process.
The Bodo-Bonny corridor is one of the region’s most prominent road projects because it provides a long-sought land connection to Bonny Island, an area historically dependent on water transport and strategically important to Nigeria’s oil and gas economy. Tinubu had already flagged off the temporary use of the main Bodo-Bonny Road in December 2025, when officials said the 37.9-kilometre project had reached roughly 91% completion.
Umahi said the newly approved projects fall within key economic corridors and would improve connectivity, trade and development. He thanked Tinubu for what he described as strategic approvals and urged Nigerians to support the administration’s infrastructure agenda. The announcement adds to a broader push by the federal government to expand road works across multiple regions. Earlier this month, officials also announced approvals tied to the Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe-Maiduguri corridor, suggesting Abuja is trying to pair high-visibility regional links like Bodo-Bonny with longer inter-state trunk routes.
What remains unclear is when construction will begin on the Niger roads and the Bodo-Bonny extension, and how quickly procurement will move from approval to execution.
