President Bola Tinubu has noted the importance of setting up ranches and improving rural livelihoods in Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Speaking during the commissioning of a newly built 15-kilometre road connecting A2 Junction on the Abuja–Lokoja expressway to Pai town, the president said he was encouraged by what he observed while traveling to the event.
“I just left the commissioning of a great mechanization project to come here and looking at what we saw on our way here, we saw opportunities, prosperity and the need for the establishment of ranches and reasons to uplift the lives of our rural people,” he said.
President Tinubu assured farmers and herders in the Pai–Gomani corridor of his administration’s support to build grazing spaces and reduce the chances of disputes between communities. He also said that rural areas would no longer be left behind in development plans, promising growth that benefits all Nigerians regardless of where they live.
The new road, built by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, is seen as more than just a path for travel. Tinubu noted that the route would help open up fresh chances for agriculture, trade, schooling, and movement, all of which are crucial to helping the economy grow from the grassroots.
He praised Wike and his team for their efforts, saying, “A leader like Barrister Nyesom Wike and his team is doing a wonderful job, thinking about the people and their needs, and thinking about the country that he represents.”
Tinubu added that infrastructure development in rural areas like Pai would continue, and that places long ignored would now feel the presence of real governance. “We will work with you. We will convert what used to be a liability and a source of conflict, to a means of prosperity,” he stated.
On his part, Minister Wike spoke about plans to provide land to genuine farmers, but warned that such lands would not be given to those he called “political farmers.” He said only serious agricultural investors would be considered for access to land, and that compensation would be paid to local communities.
He also gave an overview of several rural road projects already completed or ongoing across the FCT, which total over 150 kilometres. These include roads in Gwagwalada, Kuje, Kwali, and Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
Wike said the newly accessible farmlands could help fight the ongoing food crisis in Nigeria, but insisted that only those ready to farm seriously would benefit.
“With this, many of you who want to be farmers, real farmers, we are willing to pay compensation to communities and give you farmlands so that we can come out of the food problem,” he said.
