**Minister’s Comments on Sokoto-Badagry Expressway Rile Netizens**
The recent remarks made by Minister of Works, David Umahi, have sparked a fierce backlash on social media. Umahi hinted that the launch of phase 1B of the long-awaited Sokoto-Badagry expressway could depend on political outcomes in the 2027 elections.
While addressing the people of Sokoto, Umahi acknowledged the project’s delayed progress, crediting President Bola Tinubu for finally taking action on the project, which was first proposed almost 48 years ago. However, his comments were met with criticism, with many accusing him of using essential amenities to campaign for the 2027 elections.
Many social media users, including cicarachichi, chidinadi, babanollywood, and others, lashed out at the Minister, saying that he was using basic necessities like road construction as a political tool. “It’s absurd for him to use promises of basic amenities, like building roads, as campaign propaganda for 2027,” wrote cicarachichi.
Other users, like stanick 1, questioned the focus on road construction, suggesting that the country’s leaders prioritize alternatives to road transport, such as speed trains and trams. Humprey lamented the use of the poor as pawns in political battles they didn’t start or control. Ayogujoshua expressed outrage, saying, “This country can only progress when we start eating these people and their kids… how can you be using road-road-road to be campaigning for?”
Zoetestimony concluded that the Minister’s comments signified a lack of substance in the government’s campaign, while temiarewa referred to it as a shame on the nation and its generation. Grateful_isaac exclaimed, “They have no shame, God!” The heated reaction from netizens has sparked a national conversation about the role of infrastructure in electoral politics and the responsibility of leaders to prioritize the needs of the people.
