By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima has commissioned the 33.5km Elele-Umudioga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Akpabu-Ikiri-Omoku Dual Carriageway in Rivers State, a project delivered under the administration of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Shettima performed the commissioning on Thursday, 20 August, 2026 acting on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, at an event that saw the road officially opened to link communities across Ikwerre, Emohua and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas, cutting through a vital agricultural, commercial and oil-and-gas corridor to Omoku.
Speaking at the event, the Vice President stated that the current administration was intentionally expanding infrastructure and economic opportunities beyond major urban centres in order to alleviate congestion, create jobs and foster equitable national development across the country, noting that the project aligned with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He explained that the completed road would enable farmers to transport their produce more easily, minimise losses and reduce logistics expenses for businesses, while also providing communities along the corridor with enhanced economic opportunities.
Shettima stressed that roads remained among the most equitable tools for development, highlighting their role in linking farmers to markets, workers to employment, students to educational institutions and patients to healthcare services.
He commended Governor Fubara for the successful completion of the project, describing it as consistent with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Federal Government’s endorsement of state-led initiatives that enhance security, welfare and economic prospects across the country.
The Vice President further stressed the importance of continuity in governance, noting that one administration lays a foundation while another strengthens it, with the people remaining the ultimate beneficiaries.
He subsequently urged communities along the corridor to protect the infrastructure from vandalism and other activities capable of shortening its lifespan.
Speaking on his part, Governor Fubara expressed optimism that the project would improve security and ease the age-long suffering of residents across Ikwerre, Emohua and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas.
He explained that some individuals had previously taken advantage of the poor state of the road for kidnapping, oil bunkering and other forms of criminality, adding that such activities would become a thing of the past following the completion of the dual carriageway.
