Obi Calls for Road Reconstruction, Maintenance Over New Projects

Former Anambra State Governor and National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Peter Obi, has called on governments to prioritise the reconstruction and maintenance of existing roads and infrastructure rather than focusing primarily on new projects.
Obi made the call while highlighting the worsening condition of road networks in the country, citing a recent journey from Onitsha to Lagos that took nearly two days instead of the usual maximum of eight hours.
According to him, a passenger who left Onitsha on Saturday night to take a bus to Lagos on Sunday morning had still not arrived by the time Obi left Lagos at about 8pm the following day. The passenger eventually arrived in Lagos at about 2pm the next day.
Obi said the situation goes beyond poor roads, stressing that Nigerians are losing valuable working hours, spending more on fuel, damaging vehicles and experiencing delays in the movement of goods.
He also noted that stranded passengers are sometimes forced to spend nights on highways, while businesses suffer significant financial losses because of prolonged travel times and disrupted logistics.
“Nigerians do not need new projects just for the headlines. We need functional roads that make life and economic activity possible,” Obi said.
He argued that the value of infrastructure should not be measured solely by the size or cost of a project, but by its impact on people’s lives and livelihoods.
“A government must understand that infrastructure is not necessarily about the size of the project; it is about the number of lives and livelihoods it improves,” he added.