President Bola Tinubu has urged governors to prioritize meeting targets on food security and has approved the immediate rollout of the National Construction and Household Support Programme across all geo-political zones in the country. The aim is to boost agricultural productivity, strengthen the economy by creating opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing, and construction sectors, and provide urgent economic relief for Nigerians.
Key projects under the programme include the Sokoto-Badagry Highway, which will pass through Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos. Additionally, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Trans-Saharan Highway linking Enugu, Abakaliki, Ogoja, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Abuja are prioritized for development.
President Tinubu has also approved full counterpart financing for the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Railway, covering Rivers, Abia, Enugu, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, and Borno. Similarly, funding has been allocated for the Ibadan-Abuja segment of the Lagos-Kano Standard-Gauge Railway, passing through Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Niger, Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano.
The Sokoto-Badagry road project is of particular importance due to its strategic significance for agricultural sustainability, passing through 216 agricultural communities, 58 large and medium dams, seven Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs), 156 local government areas, 39 commercial cities and towns, and over 1 million hectares of arable land.
Furthermore, the National Construction and Household Support Programme includes provisions such as a one-off allocation of N10 billion to states and the Federal Capital Territory for the procurement of buses and the CNG uplift programme, delivery of N50,000 uplift grant to 100,000 families per state for three months, and support for labour unions and civil society organizations.
