Vice President Kashim Shettima has flagged off the rehabilitation of the Bama-Banki Road and Dikwa-Gamboru-Ngala Road in Borno State, describing the projects as strategic corridors for trade, agriculture, security access and post-insurgency recovery in the North-East.
Shettimavin a statement issued Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media & Communications, Stanley Nkwocha said road infrastructure remained inseparable from the region’s quest for lasting peace and economic recovery.
He noted that the road projects reflect the administration’s commitment to restoring mobility, rebuilding economic confidence and reconnecting communities that have endured years of insecurity and infrastructural neglect.
Shettima stressed that the two corridors would strengthen cross-border economic activity and widen the reach of security agencies across the North East.
He added that the roads determine whether farmers can move produce to markets, traders can reach customers, children can access schools, patients can reach healthcare facilities and security agencies can respond to communities in time.
“Roads are the live wire of our commercial engagements. They determine whether the farmer reaches the market, the trader reaches the customer, the child reaches school, the patient reaches care, and security agencies reach communities in time,” the Vice President said.
He noted that President Bola Tinubu had made infrastructure a central priority because poor road networks impose heavy costs on households, businesses and communities.
Shettima said bad roads slow commerce, raise the cost of food, isolate communities, discourage investment and weaken the productive capacity of local economies.
He also observed that in a region still recovering from the impact of insurgency, road rehabilitation must be treated as both an economic and security intervention.
“Bad roads are also a security risk. A corridor that is difficult for citizens to travel is equally difficult for security personnel to patrol and protect,” he stated.
Shettima described the Bama-Banki corridor as a route of “special strategic weight,” adding that the Dikwa-Gamboru-Ngala road forms part of the same vision to reconnect communities and restore confidence across Borno State.
Assuring residents of Bama, Banki, Dikwa, Gamboru-Ngala and other communities along the corridors, Shettima said the projects would be pursued to completion.
“Promises acquire meaning when citizens can drive on the roads, move their goods, reach their families, and live with greater security,” he said.