Touring federal road projects across the South-East alongside Works Minister David Umahi on Sunday, Chioma Nweze, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Community Engagement for the South-East, used the inspection to make a direct political appeal, urging residents of the region to back the president’s re-election bid in 2027.
Nweze framed the scale of ongoing road construction and rehabilitation as evidence of a level of federal attention the South-East has never seen before, describing it as proof of Tinubu’s personal commitment to the region. “This is unprecedented in the annals of the country, as the President has demonstrated unbridled love and affection for the people of the zone,” she said, arguing that the development record alone justifies strong regional support at the polls. “President Tinubu, therefore, deserves to be voted for massively by the region in appreciation and to sustain this unrivalled development,” she added.
Among the specific projects she highlighted was the multi-state superhighway running through Ebonyi and other parts of the region, which she described as a genuinely transformative undertaking for trade, transportation, and inter-community connectivity. “This is democracy delivering its dividends in their entirety, and the South-East cannot wish for a better leader at the helm,” she said. She also singled out work on the Ndibe Bridge and other major federal highways as further evidence of the administration’s investment in the region’s infrastructure.
Beyond roads, Nweze pointed to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as another example of government programs benefiting South-East residents directly, encouraging students in the region to take advantage of the scheme to pursue higher education without the financial barriers that have historically limited access. “NELFUND ensures that more students from the South-East have access to quality education and government programmes should be embraced,” she said.
Nweze reserved particular praise for Umahi’s role in overseeing the road projects, crediting him with translating presidential intent into visible results on the ground. “You are greatly repaying the confidence reposed in you by the President when he entrusted this responsibility to you,” she told the minister during the visit.
That praise carried added weight given her own account of the Afikpo-Okigwe Federal Highway’s condition in years past, a route she said had long been a source of genuine anxiety for families whose relatives had to travel it. “I remember we prayed fervently whenever family members travelled that road because of its deplorable condition and vulnerability,” she recalled, describing the road’s dangerous state and the security concerns that once came with it. According to Nweze, that reality has since shifted substantially thanks to Umahi’s direct engineering involvement. “The story has changed today, as you have deployed your engineering ingenuity to make travel on the road seamless,” she said.
