The Presidency has defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s borrowing policy, saying visible infrastructure projects across states prove that borrowed funds are being used for development.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated this on Thursday during the Presidential Media Tour of Projects in Benue State.
The tour, organised by the Renewed Hope Ambassadors (RHA) in collaboration with the Presidential Media Team, is designed to showcase federal and state projects being executed under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Speaking after inspecting the Buruku Bridge across the Katsina-Ala River, Onanuga said ongoing investments in roads, bridges and industries are a practical response to critics of the administration’s borrowing.
“As Nigerians, we see that the government has been accused of borrowing money. But we can also see where the money is going; to develop infrastructure, link people who had been forgotten, ensure commerce flows freely and enable farmers to move their produce straight to the markets,” he said.
He noted that the 854-meter dual-carriageway Buruku Bridge is one of five bridges currently under construction by the federal government in Benue. According to him, it will improve movement between Benue, Taraba and Adamawa states and create a strategic economic corridor linking the North-Central and North-East.
Onanuga expressed satisfaction with the pace of work and was told by officials that funding was not a challenge because the project is being financed through the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund.
“This project is going to be beneficial to everybody economically,” he added.
The Federal Controller of Works in Benue State, Engr. Mukaila Danlandi, said the bridge commenced in 2023 and is expected to be completed by December 2027.
He said all substructures including piles, pile caps and piers have been completed, while precast beams are ready for installation after the rains.
“There is no funding problem. The project is under the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund,” Danlandi said.
He added that compensation issues which delayed work earlier had been resolved with the intervention of the Benue State Government.
Benue Deputy Governor, Dr. Samuel Ode, described the bridge as “a golden gift to the people of Benue State” that will end decades of fatal boat mishaps on the Katsina-Ala River.
He said the bridge links Buruku, Logo, Katsina-Ala and Ukum LGAs to Taraba, and will serve Sankera, Benue’s major yam-producing belt, by giving direct access for trucks to markets in southern Nigeria.
A local iron bender working on the site, Ilakyaa Keghtor, said over 50 youths from the host community have been employed.
“When the bridge is completed, we will no longer experience the frequent boat accidents that have claimed many lives,” he said.
The delegation also inspected the high-level underpass in Makurdi, a state government project.
Dr. Ode said the interchange connects four major arterial roads and was made possible by increased Federation Account allocations and “prudent utilisation” by Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration.
Director of Civil Engineering, Engr. Abraham Wombo, said phase one cost about N6.9 billion and has significantly reduced gridlock and accidents at the junction.
The team further visited the ongoing Wurukum Flyover and 20km dual carriageway to Renewed Hope Estate, the N15 billion Food Basket Brewery producing ZEVA beer and malt, the revived Taraku Mills, a new fruit concentrate factory, and the Gboko Township Underpass.
Onanuga said the tour shows that borrowing under Tinubu is translating to “infrastructure capable of boosting economic activities, improving connectivity and opening up previously isolated communities.”
Since May 2023, the administration has secured fresh domestic and external loans to finance infrastructure, cover budget deficits, and support economic reforms.
Government officials maintain that part of the rise in public debt also reflects naira depreciation, which increased the naira value of existing foreign loans.
