Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga at the weekend, led the Presidential Communications Team to an extensive tour of strategic federal government projects in Ebonyi State.
According to information available, the essence was to showcase the impact of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the complementary development initiatives of the state government.
The movement which is a in continuation of the Renewed Hope Media Tour of federal and state government projects across the South-East geo-political zone had other members of the team include Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, as well as Senior Special Assistants to the President on Media and Special Duties, Tunde Rahman
Also amongst the are the Media and Publicity person, Tope Ajayi; Digital and New Media person, Otega Ogra; Public Engagement person, Fredrick Nwabufo; Strategic Communication person, Linda Akhigbe; and Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Segun Dada, among others.
According to a statement by Abiodun Oladunjoye, Director of Information and Public Relations, State House, the team made its first stop at the Government House, Abakaliki.
There, Onanuga told the State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, that the Renewed Hope Media Tour was designed to provide firsthand assessment and public awareness of projects being implemented under the Tinubu administration, while also highlighting the synergy between the federal government and sub-national governments in delivering development dividends to Nigerians.
Nwifuru welcomed the delegation and assured them of security throughout the inspection period.
The governor commended the President for his commitment to infrastructure development in the South-East, especially Ebonyi State, as well as his national renewal programme.
The team, alongside the Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi; Acting Federal Controller of Works in the state, Engr. Maxwell Okoh; and Mohammed Mustafa, Project Manager of Infiouest International Limited, the contractor handling the Calabar–Abuja Trans-Sahara Super Highway, inspected critical bridges and road projects, including the ongoing construction of a 90-metre link bridge in Section 1 and concrete pavement works on the Onueke section of the highway.
They also inspected the 1.3-kilometre Ndi-Egbe Bridge in Afikpo LGA of Ebonyi, linking Ugep in Cross River State, which is expected to be completed by December 2026.
The Trans-Sahara Super Highway is a project of the Tinubu administration that will connect Cross River, Ebonyi, Benue, Nasarawa, and the Federal Capital Territory.
Umahi said the original scope of Section 1 of the project was meant to cover 118 kilometres of single carriageway but was later reviewed to cover both lanes of the 123.6-kilometre stretch at a cost of N445 billion, adding that the dualised component’s procurement process is ongoing.
The minister said Section 2 of the superhighway runs from the Ebonyi border through Benue, Kogi, and ends at the Loko-Oweto Bridge in Nasarawa State, covering a 123.6-kilometre stretch.
“The project is over 28 per cent completed, with continuous work despite the rainy season. We are utilising concrete technology for durability,” Umahi said.
The team also inspected a completed section of the concrete pavement link road between Ebonyi and Cross River States, particularly from Okposi-Ukawu in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi and Ugwulangwu–Abaomege in Ugep Local Government Area of Cross River State.
The minister, while explaining the socio-economic and agricultural benefits of the Tinubu administration’s legacy projects, said the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway corridor has over 73 dams for irrigation farming to boost agriculture, while the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway and other development initiatives improve connectivity, attract investors, and enhance the quality of life for Nigerians.
He noted that the infrastructure projects inspected in Ebonyi State reflect the Tinubu administration’s determination to drive national development through strategic infrastructure investment.
