Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has said his administration’s expanding infrastructure projects across the state could give the All Progressives Congress (APC) a significant electoral advantage in the 2027 general elections.
Fubara said the visible impact of ongoing and completed projects would provide APC candidates with tangible achievements to present to voters during grassroots campaigns.
The governor spoke on Wednesday while commissioning the 14.5-kilometre Agba-Ndele Road and a major bridge linking communities in Emohua and Abua/Odual Local Government Areas of the state.
According to him, the projects would make it easier for APC candidates to demonstrate government performance and win the confidence of the electorate. “When he comes here to campaign, more especially in Emohua, he will tell them: my party did this and my party did that. So it will be easy for us to win election here,” Fubara said.
The governor’s remarks placed his administration’s infrastructure development drive at the centre of the APC’s potential campaign strategy in Rivers State ahead of the 2027 elections, with completed projects expected to serve as evidence of government performance.
Fubara, however, stressed that his administration was focused on delivering projects with meaningful and lasting benefits rather than embarking on interventions solely for political visibility.
“I’m not interested in just doing anything; I’m interested in doing something that can add value and change the life of our people,” he said.
He described the Agba-Ndele Road and bridge as critical infrastructure for communities that had endured difficulties accessing and using the old Abua Road, noting that the new facilities would ease transportation challenges and strengthen connectivity between the affected communities.
The governor also made a case for continuity in governance, explaining that the bridge project was initiated by an earlier administration and was not started by either his government or that of his immediate predecessor.
He maintained that projects capable of benefiting the people should not be abandoned because of political differences or questions over which administration initiated them. “When you see something that will benefit the people, it doesn’t matter who started it. What is important is you complete it and put it to use,” he said.
The 14.5-kilometre road features a 10.3-metre binder-course width, a 7.3-metre wearing-course width and three-metre shoulders, while its drainage channels measure 0.6 metres by 0.6 metres.
The Commissioner for Works, Prof. Temple Nwofor, said the bridge spans 239.4 metres and has a width of 10.3 metres, including 1.5-metre walkways on both sides. The project also includes a 1.2-kilometre access road.
Fubara charged the chairmen of Emohua and Abua/Odual Local Government Areas, Chidi Lloyd and Owolobi Michael Ofori, respectively, to ensure the protection and preservation of government infrastructure within their jurisdictions.
He also urged traditional rulers, youth groups and residents of Agba-Ndele and neighbouring communities to regard the newly commissioned facilities as collective assets.
The governor warned against vandalism and misuse of public infrastructure, stressing that the destruction of government property would amount to a waste of public resources and deny communities the full benefits of development.
