One interchange at a time, we are rebuilding trust

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday said his administration was “rebuilding the Federal Capital Territory” to restore citizens’ trust and hope in government, as he inaugurated a new interchange linking Jahi and Gwarinpa districts in Abuja.

Represented at the ceremony by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Tinubu described the newly completed junction at the intersection of Arterial Road N16 and Ring Road II as evidence that “Abuja is changing”.

“One interchange at a time, one road at a time, we are rebuilding trust and restoring hope”, the president said. “Together, we will build a country where every citizen can move freely, live safely, and prosper. This intersection used to choke Abuja. Gridlock stretched from Maitama to Gishiri, from Jahi to Gwarimpa. Hours were lost, fuel was wasted and businesses were delayed. Today, that story ends. This interchange opens up critical districts of the FCT and connects them smoothly to the rest of the territory.”

Tinubu framed infrastructure as central to economic recovery under his Renewed Hope Agenda. “When we connect districts, we connect destinies”, he said. “That is the logic of the Renewed Hope Agenda: build the roads, unlock the economy, and let Nigerians thrive. The Jahi/Gwarimpa Interchange is proof that Nigeria is not beyond redemption.”

He commended the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for driving the project and other works across the capital. “Nigerians can see it, critics can see it and residents feel it in their daily lives. Well done”, the president added.

Wike said the interchange project had been awarded shortly before Tinubu took office but lacked mobilisation, and praised the president for releasing funds to continue and complete it. “Mr President, you have shown that government is continuum. It doesn’t matter who awarded the project. What is important is to complete the project for the betterment and the development of society”, the minister said.

Responding to criticism from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that the administration focussed only on roads while Nigerians faced hunger, Wike called the claim misleading and pointed to recent water infrastructure inaugurations. “Let me say that it is not correct that we are only doing roads. It is not correct”, he said, noting the Karu Water Supply Network had been inaugurated two days earlier and that a Bwari water network would be opened in July.

The FCT Minister of State, Mariya Mahmoud, said the interchange would ease traffic, shorten travel times and improve access to commercial centres, supporting the movement of people and goods as the FCT’s population grew.

The Acting Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Richard Dauda, said the Arterial Road N16 project had been awarded in May 2023 for full development from Ring Road II to Ring Road III and was being delivered in phases. He said Phase I (Maitama) and much of Phase II (Katampe to Wole Soyinka Way) had been completed, while the Jahi section remained under construction. The overall project would span about 7.25 kilometres up to Ring Road III and would be finished in due course, he added.

Members of the FCDA, government officials and other stakeholders attended the inauguration.