Senator Ali Ndume, former Senate Leader and representative of Borno South, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to initiate Special Presidential Priority Projects for the North-East, aimed at addressing decades of infrastructural neglect and social challenges in the region.

Ndume made the call in a statement personally signed and released to journalists in Abuja on Thursday, following the visit of the six North-East governors to the Presidential Villa, where they presented a list of abandoned projects requiring urgent federal intervention.

Special Presidential Priority Projects are high-impact national infrastructure schemes requiring special funding and focus because of their strategic importance or urgency.

During the Villa meeting, Borno State Governor and Chairman of the North-East Governors’ Forum (NEGF), Prof. Babagana Zulum, outlined 17 major roads that had been left unattended for years.

These include the Kano–Maiduguri Road, Port Harcourt–Jos–Bauchi–Maiduguri railway line, Bama–Mubi–Yola Road, Wukari–Jalingo–Yola Road, Duguri–Mansur Road (an ongoing NNPC project), Bauchi–Gombe–Biu–Damaturu Road, Damaturu–Geidam Road, Bauchi–Ningi–Nasaru–Babaldo Road, Gombe–Potiskum Road, and Damaturu–Biu Road, among others.

The governors also demanded the resumption of oil exploration in frontier basins, particularly at the Kolmani and Lake Chad wells.

Commending the NEGF for what he described as a “bold and coordinated intervention,” Ndume lamented that the zone had experienced over 15 years of near-total infrastructural collapse due to insurgency.

“In view of this, I suggest that the present administration should give priority to the region and make provision for its urgent infrastructural needs in the 2025 supplementary budget,” Ndume said.

“Now that insurgents have receded as a result of efforts by our military who have regained lost grounds, contractors can now move to sites.”

The lawmaker urged Tinubu to also reflect these priorities in the 2026 appropriation, stressing that urgent investments are needed to rebuild roads, railways, and critical infrastructure to restore economic activities and improve the lives of residents.

He further encouraged North-East governors to continue initiating programmes that would bring relief and restore dignity to citizens across the region. (The Guardian)