By Olawumi Oyehan
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has explained that for original inhabitants giving up their ancestral land, for the good of the nation, he directed the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, to give them whatever they desired.
Tinubu stated this at the commissioning of the newly constructed Airport Road (Bill Clinton Drive) to Tunga Madaki Community in Abuja.
It would be recalled that the original inhabitants in Tunga Madaki gave up their ancestral land for the construction of the Second Runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
According to Tinubu, “When it became necessary to construct the Second Runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, a project vital to our national security and economic expansion, the original inhabitants of this area surrendered their ancestral lands. They sacrificed for the collective good of the nation.
”Yet, for years, the paradox remained. These patriotic communities gave up land for airplanes to fly, yet they had no motorable roads for their own feet and vehicles. They were cut off.”
He lamented that the communities were cut off and had no motor able roads,
”Let me state this clearly: no citizen should be made a victim of national development. When the Honourable Minister of the FCT, Barrister Nyesom Wike, brought this matter to my attention, my directive was clear and unequivocal: ‘Whatever the communities ask for to make their lives whole, give it to them.’ We do not just take; we build, we replace, and we elevate. Today, we have fulfilled that solemn promise,” Tinubu said.
Explaining about the significant of the road, he said, “The road we are commissioning today bypasses the second runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport and connects communities that, for years, were cut off from the economic heart of the FCT” .