Vice President Kashim Shettima and Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, have commissioned the 33.5-kilometre Elele–Egbeda–Omoku Dual Carriageway.

Shettima arrived in Rivers earlier on Thursday to represent President Bola Tinubu at the commissioning of the strategic road project.

He was received at the Port Harcourt International Airport by Fubara, members of the State Executive Council, federal lawmakers, ministers and other senior government officials.

The development was announced by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, in posts on X.

Nkwocha said the road traverses Ikwerre, Emohua and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas.

He said the project was expected to “improve connectivity, ease movement of goods and people, and support economic activities across the benefiting communities.”

Speaking at the commissioning, Shettima said infrastructure development was critical to expanding economic opportunities and improving the lives of Nigerians.

“Roads are the most democratic instruments of development. They serve the farmer carrying produce to market, the trader seeking customers, the worker travelling to employment, the student going to school, and the patient seeking Medicare,” he said.

“When a road works, society moves.”

Shettima said the road had previously been characterised by deep gullies, a deteriorated carriageway, difficult journeys and security concerns.

“Today that memory gives way to a modern dual carriageway illuminated for safer movement by day and night,” he said.

The Vice President said the project demonstrated that governance was a continuum, adding that successive administrations could build on previous efforts while citizens remained the ultimate beneficiaries.

“That continuity is how public service earns meaning and citizens receive the respite they deserve,” he said.

Shettima said the road would enable farmers to move produce faster with fewer losses, while helping traders reach larger markets and businesses reduce logistics costs.

He said, “Public infrastructure must be judged by the lives it improves.”

The Vice President commended Fubara for committing public resources to the project and bringing it to completion.

“I therefore, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, commend His Excellency, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, for committing public resources to this project and bringing it to completion,” Shettima said.

Fubara said the project was more than a road, describing it as a statement that demonstrated his administration’s commitment to the communities along the corridor.

“It’s not just a project, it’s a statement that we have made to show our people, the three local governments, the benefits, the communities that are most close to this project that we care for you and your concerns are our concern,” he said.

The governor said the 33.5-kilometre road, which also features a river-crossing bridge, had previously served as a corridor for kidnapping and bunkering.

“We already know what normally happens in this road. It is a corridor for kidnapping. It is also a very big corridor for bunkering,” Fubara said.

He expressed confidence that the project would improve security along the route by enabling security agencies to operate more effectively.

“I’m very, very convinced that with what we have done today, those things will be things of the past. Security agencies can operate effectively along this corridor,” he said.

Fubara added that the road’s lighting would further discourage criminal activities.

“In this project, we have lights from the beginning to the end. So even in the night, it is properly illuminated,” he said.

The governor thanked the Federal Government for its support, saying the project demonstrated his administration’s commitment to fulfilling its promises.

“So I want to thank you for this special support that you’ve given to us, for us today to come here to say to the glory of God that promise made is a promise kept,” he said.

The road is one of the major infrastructure projects being inaugurated by the Rivers State Government.