*SUB: South-West Gets ₦1.8tn + ₦15tn Coastal Highway + $7bn Ogun Port; South-East Gets No Deep Seaport, No Metro, 118km Road*
From Uduma Kalu
ABA —* Budget Office of the Federation data shows how President Bola Tinubu shared ₦10.92 trillion Federal Executive Council approvals since May 2023.
*THE BREAKDOWN BY ZONE — OFFICIAL FIGURES (DG Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, Sep 1, 2025):*
- North-West: ₦5.97 trillion — 40%
- South-South: ₦2.41 trillion — 22%
- North-Central: ₦1.13 trillion — 10%
- Lagos (exclusive): ₦1.2 trillion — 11%
- South-West (excluding Lagos): ₦604 billion — 5.5%
- South-East: ₦407 billion — 3.7% — LAST
- North-East: ₦400 billion — 3.6%
South-West combined: ₦1.804 trillion. South-East: ₦407 billion. South-West gets 4.4 times more than South-East.
*WHAT SOUTH-WEST GOT:*
*1. Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway — 750km, ₦15 trillion*
Flagged off March 2024, Section 1 (47.47km) awarded to Hitech Construction at ₦1.067 trillion. Renamed after Tinubu July 2025. 175km ongoing in Lagos. Minister David Umahi says idea was Tinubu's 27 years ago as Lagos governor.
*2. Ogun Gateway Deep Sea Port — $7 billion+*
MoU signed Paris Sep 24, 2026, Tinubu witnessed, with DP World. 4km berth, 18m draft, 10,000-hectare Blue Marine SEZ, 50,000 direct jobs. Federal Government promised road, rail, power linkage via 28km Ogun section of coastal highway.
*3. Lekki Ecosystem*
Lekki Deep Seaport operational since 2023 — $1.5bn, 16.5m draft, 90 hectares, now 40.6% of Nigeria's cargo. Badagry Deep Seaport proposed.
*4. Roads & Bridges*
- Lagos-Sagamu 12km dualised
- Lagos-Ibadan 8.5km — ₦33bn
- Oyo-Ogbomoso-Ilorin — ₦146bn
- Carter Bridge, Third Mainland, Eko Bridge — ₦120bn rehab
- Lagos airport fencing
*5. Sokoto-Badagry Highway — 1,068km — connects South-West to North-West*
Part of ₦5.97tn North-West package but starts in Badagry.
*WHAT SOUTH-EAST GOT:*
*1. Trans-Sahara Highway — 465km total, only 118km in Ebonyi State ongoing*
No exclusive SE highway. The rest is in other zones.
*2. Benue (Makurdi) - 9th Mile (Enugu) Road — 250km dualised — $958m*
This is North-Central to South-East link, not pure SE road. Only big ticket touching SE.
*3. Eastern Rail — Port Harcourt to Maiduguri*
Rehabilitation of 1960s narrow gauge, abandoned since 1985. No new standard gauge. No metro.
*4. No Deep Seaport*
Ibom Deep Seaport is South-South, not South-East. South-East states' proposals — Azumini (Abia), Ose-Akwa (Anambra), Oguta (Imo) — no federal gazette, no MoU in Paris, no $7bn.
*5. No Bridge, No Airport Upgrade Listed*
Second Niger Bridge was Buhari, not Tinubu. No new federal bridge in SE under Tinubu FEC list.
*NUMBER COMPARISON:*
Item South-West South-East
Total FEC approvals ₦1.804tn + ₦15tn highway ₦407bn
Deep seaports 3 (Lekki operational, Ogun $7bn MoU, Badagry proposed) | 0
Coastal highway 175km in Lagos ongoing 0 km in SE (highway ends in Calabar, not SE)
Metro rail Lagos Blue/Red Line + Ogun metro line None
Biggest single project ₦15tn + $7bn | 118km road in Ebonyi
*WHY IT MATTERS:*
South-East contributes:
- Over 60% of import trade (Onitsha Main Market, Ariaria Aba, Alaba, Ladipo, Computer Village)
- Pays highest Customs duties per capita — goods cleared in Lagos but owned by Eastern traders
- No federal seaport to land them, so pays ₦1.2m trucking Lagos-Onitsha vs ₦300k if Calabar/Onitsha worked
FG's defence: DG Budget Office says viral chart calling Lagos ₦3.9tn is propaganda — only ₦1.2tn is Lagos-exclusive, rest are national arteries. And North-West, not Lagos, is biggest beneficiary at ₦5.97tn because it needs revival of 255MW Kaduna Power Plant abandoned since Yar'Adua.
But South-East question remains: If North-West can get ₦5.97tn for power plant and roads, why can't South-East get even one deep seaport with 22m natural depth surveyed since 1958?
*QUOTE FOR STORY:*
Chukwuma Nnanna, importer, Onitsha Main Market: "Tinubu built $7bn port for Ogun in Paris. We don't need Paris. Give us same gazette you gave Lekki and Ogun for Azumini. We will bring DP World ourselves."
---
*SOURCES BOX — BELOW FEATURE:*
1. Budget breakdown — Tanimu Yakubu, DG Budget Office, statement Sep 1, 2025 — "Northwest: The lion's share of Tinubu's government projects" — The Nation, PM News, JustEventOnline.
2. Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway — 750km, ₦15tn est, Section 1 47.474km ₦1,067,887,381,148.61 — Minister David Umahi briefing, Hitech Construction.
3. Ogun Gateway — $7bn+ MoU Sep 24, 2026 Paris, DP World MEA FZE, 4km berth, 18m draft, 10,000ha SEZ — Ogun State press statement Kayode Akinmade.
4. Lekki Port — $1.5bn, 16.5m draft, 90ha, 40.6% cargo 2025 — NPA Operational Performance Report.
5. SE projects — Trans-Sahara 465km (118km Ebonyi), Benue-9th Mile 250km $958m — FEC approvals list 2024/2025.
6. Total — ₦10.92tn FEC approvals.
0 Comments