President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sent a clear message to Abuja’s rural communities, saying, the days of neglect are over.
Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday, the President declared that “no community will be left behind” under his Renewed Hope Agenda, as he commissioned the long-awaited dualized Ushafa to War College Army checkpoint road in Bwari Area Council a lifeline for thousands who have endured decades of poor access and stunted growth.
“Today is not just about a road; it is about keeping faith with our people,” Tinubu said through Shettima. “This road used to be a daily nightmare a stretch of endless frustration for commuters, traders, farmers, students, and health workers. Today, that hardship ends. This corridor is now a bridge to better lives and bigger dreams.”
Stretching 16.4 kilometres through some of the FCT’s most underserved communities, the upgraded road is expected to slash travel time, unlock new markets, improve emergency response, and attract fresh investments to Bwari and its neighbours.
But the President’s message went beyond asphalt. He threw the spotlight on his administration’s deliberate push to grow local capacity, pointing out that the entire project was handled by a Nigerian contractor a move he said proves that homegrown firms can match global standards when trusted and monitored.
“We are not just laying tar and gravel. We are laying foundations for jobs, for pride, and for confidence in Nigerian hands and minds,” Tinubu said. “When we build with local contractors, we build an economy that works for Nigerians.”
In a veiled swipe at critics who claim the FCT’s suburbs remain neglected, Tinubu praised Minister Nyesom Wike’s “bold, hands-on leadership” for driving projects beyond the city centre into communities that had almost lost hope.
“Minister Wike’s vision matches ours: development must touch every ward, every street, every farm gate,” he said. “No community will be relegated to the shadows. Only then can we say Abuja works and Nigeria works.”
Vice President Shettima, with Wike by his side, told cheering residents that the commissioning was a symbol of a government ready to deliver not just talk.
“We are not here to cut ribbons for the cameras. We are here to prove that promises made are promises kept,” Shettima said.
The FCT Minister, in his remarks, reminded political jobbers and serial party defectors who “jump from one party to another without vision” that real politics is about results, not recycled promises.
“Let those who claim nothing is working come and walk this road. They should see with their own eyes that leadership that works is leadership that builds,” Wike declared, taking a swipe at perennial critics.
The newly completed road is one of multiple rural infrastructure projects flagged off by the FCT Administration in recent months all part of a wider push to make Abuja’s satellite towns viable, liveable, and fully connected to the city’s economic heartbeat.
Residents of Bwari and Ushafa erupted in cheers as the ribbon fell, knowing that what used to be a rugged stretch of broken promises has finally become a smooth gateway to opportunity.
Earlier, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for rewriting the history of governance in the FCT by personally taking development projects to rural communities a feat Wike described as unprecedented since Nigeria’s return to democracy.
Wike told dignitaries and residents that Tinubu’s direct presence and unwavering support for satellite towns prove his commitment to inclusive development for all residents of the nation’s capital.
“Mr. President, let me, on behalf of the FCT Administration and the entire people of Bwari Area Council, thank you most sincerely. For the first time in our history, a sitting President and Vice President are visiting our satellite towns not just to flag off but to commission projects for our rural people,” Wike declared.
He noted that President Tinubu’s visits to Kwali, Bwari, Gwagwalada and other communities in just two weeks have shown clear evidence that the Renewed Hope Agenda is not an empty slogan. “Today is the 15th day you are commissioning projects. By Friday it will be the 16th day. It has never happened in the history of this country. This shows your love for our people in the satellite towns,” Wike said to loud applause.
Also speaking at the commissioning, the FCT Minister of State, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, described the project as clear evidence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that no community urban or rural is excluded from Nigeria’s journey toward sustainable development.
“Mr. President’s support is what keeps opening up new corridors of growth and prosperity across the FCT,” Mahmoud said.
She assured residents that the FCT Administration remains dedicated to delivering more visible dividends of democracy to every district and community within the nation’s capital.