Group to ADC: Stop belittling the importance of good roads to economic development

 

The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has said that Nigerians have cause to be concerned by the inability of the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to see the importance of good infrastructure to economic development.

This is in the aftermath of the strident attack by the party on Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, who had, in a recent interview, highlighted the giant strides of the President Bola Tinubu administration in road infrastructure.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, TMSG wondered why the opposition party cannot connect the provision of good road infrastructure to food security, job creation, and the overall development of the country.

“We are indeed surprised to see the National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, attempting to play down the value and importance of good roads in driving sustainable development while responding to the well-thought-out position of Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga on the giant strides the Tinubu administration is making in roads infrastructure across the country.

“In a comment which bears close similarity to the dismissive ‘na road we go chop?’ narrative of opposition supporters online, Abdullahi had, while belittling the importance of good road infrastructure, noted that ‘the first responsibility of any government is to create economic conditions in which citizens can afford food, find jobs, run businesses and live with dignity’.

“It is clear to us that the opposition party and its leaders are bent on using the cost-of-living crisis as a strategy to cast the federal government’s economic policies as ineffective, but it beggars belief that a former minister with a background in journalism would throw caution to the wind in dismissing the importance of good roads to food availability, job creation, and poverty reduction, amongst others.

“We wonder how he would act like he does not know, for instance, that a good road network would facilitate easy movement of agricultural products from farm gates in rural centres to city gates, reduce post-harvest losses, as well as boost the earnings of small-scale farmers.”

The group also maintained that available data do not outrightly support ADC’s position.

“It is a matter of public record that food inflation, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), had been on a year-on-year decline from 24.55 % in May 2025 to 16.96 % in May 2026, reflecting a notable decline from levels recorded a year earlier.

“We are, however, aware that food prices have risen since early March, not only in Nigeria but also elsewhere in the world, as a result of a spike in global oil prices in the aftermath of the Middle East crisis, which led to an increase in fuel and transportation costs.

“This cannot be directly blamed on President Tinubu’s policies, which had, before the conflict, caused a decline in food inflation.

“In terms of job creation, we expect Mr Abdulahi to know that infrastructure development is a major attraction to local and foreign investors on a country’s readiness for business, which leads to job creation.

“But in all of these, the fact that the opposition party is going out of its way to downplay what the administration is doing in road infrastructure is a tacit admittance of an achievement its leaders have never agreed existed.

“We recall how the party’s Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, had famously said in a TV interview that President Tinubu had done nothing in three years, but here is the ADC spokesman literally saying ‘na road we go chop’.

“Ironically, this is coming at a time the Tinubu-led federal government has been commissioning massive road infrastructure built in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the last 36 months,” it said.

The group added that it was interesting how ADC is prepared to ignore all data-driven indices of an improving economy on the watch of President Tinubu emanating from local and international bodies in order to push a narrative of an economy in crisis.

“We acknowledge that at the initial stage of the Tinubu reforms, Nigerians had to withstand harsh economic realities, which even the President had said was inevitable, but the country has gradually been witnessing improved conditions, which local and international agencies have taken notice of.

“Being a journalist, we are sure the ADC spokesman cannot pretend not to be aware that the World Bank recently disclosed that it uses Tinubu’s reform drive as a reference model of how best to carry out successful economic reforms.

“We make bold to say that there is no where in the world where reforms are not trailed by short-term pains, which is why the World Bank and international ratings agencies have always said Nigeria is on track, contrary to efforts by opposition figures to cast the Tinubu policies as ineffectual and damaging to the economy.

“Aside from infrastructure, the administration has also been making the economy more resilient while attracting foreign investments. Tertiary institutions now have a new lease of life with more stable academic calendars, while indigent students no longer fear the possibility of dropping out of school with the availability of interest-free educational loans.

“We urge Nigerians to pay close attention to the response of the world to the Tinubu reforms rather than listen to persons bent on playing politics,” the statement said.