Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, said that over 260 new road projects worth N208 billion have been commenced by the Federal Government-led President Bola Tinubu with major works ongoing on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Highway.

Kalu added that the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund supports these transformative projects.

Kalu, an Abia State-born APC member representing Bende Constituency, announced this at the launching of his Bende Town Chapter of his founded Renewed Hope Partners ( RHP), using the forum to unveil and flaunt the significant achievements of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda Initiative ( RHAI ) with focus on economic revitalisation, social welfare, security, and national development.

The event also featured the inauguration of about 20,000 new members of the RHP.
He said that under the Renewed Hope Agenda Initiative, Nigeria had recorded a 3.84 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP( growth in Q4 2024, with yearly growth rising to 3.40 per cent in 2024 from 2.74 per cent in 2023, inflation dropped from 34.6 per cent to 23.71 per cent by May 2025, food prices declined by over 25 per cent in the first quarter of 2025.

He added that Tinubu’s administration unified the Foreign Exchange (FX) market, reduced arbitrage, and boosted investor confidence, while Nigeria’s trade surplus, driven by increased exports, also reached N3.42 trillion ($2.25 billion) in Q4 2024.

Kalu further said that since Tinubu came into office on May 29, 2023, his administration has implemented bold reforms and policies that are already reshaping Nigeria’s future, arguing that the RHAI is therefore not just a slogan but a comprehensive blueprint for economic revitalisation, social welfare, security, and national development.

MEANWHILE, the Executive Director of the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA), Ezenwa Nwagwu, has cautioned political officeholders against celebrating road construction and salary payments as the sole dividends of democracy.
Nwagwu described the practice as a profound misunderstanding of the true essence of democratic governance.

Nwagwu, in a statement, yesterday, said that democracy should not be confined to infrastructure projects or basic government deliverables.

He wondered why after Nigeria’s 26th anniversary of uninterrupted civilian rule, current political discourse often prioritises optics and superficial achievements over the fundamental values that give democracy its meaning.