We are building infrastructure for knowledge-driven economy — Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has said his administration is investing in critical road infrastructure to provide the physical foundation needed for a knowledge-driven economy, stressing that education, justice and innovation can only thrive in an environment supported by adequate infrastructure.

The President stated this on Tuesday in Abuja while flagging off the construction of Collector Road CO1 in the Institutional Research District, stretching from Nile University to Ring Road III.

Represented by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, Tinubu said the project also includes the dualisation of the road from the Baze University roundabout to Nile University.

According to him, the administration’s investments in infrastructure are designed to connect institutions and create an enabling environment for economic and intellectual growth.

“From the Southern Parkway to the Institutional and Research District, we are laying the physical foundation for a knowledge-driven economy.

“Today, we are providing the roads needed to deliver justice, education and innovation to our people. To the university community, this road is more than a route; it is a connection between learning, law and the future of our capital,” he said.

The President described the Institutional and Research District as the intellectual hub of Abuja, noting that the area is home to universities, law chambers, research centres and innovation hubs.

He stressed that ideas and opportunities cannot flourish without the infrastructure required to connect people and institutions.

Under the Renewed Hope Agenda, Tinubu said his administration remains committed to completing ongoing projects and initiating strategic developments that would have lasting benefits for Nigerians.

“The first phase of this corridor connecting the Body of Benchers, Nile and Baze University is completed and ready for commissioning. Today, we begin the next phase to Ring Road III to complete the loop.

“That is how we build a city—with a plan. Not a city of abandoned projects. Infrastructure must be continuous and useful to the people,” he added.

Tinubu also commended the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for transforming the FCT Administration into what he described as a delivery-oriented institution.

“Wike, your energy is unmatched. You took over a capital with many stalled projects and turned the FCTA into a delivery agency. ‘Mr Projects’ is not a slogan; it is a record. You have revived abandoned roads, built new interchanges and brought development to satellite towns.

“You have domesticated the Renewed Hope Agenda, street by street and district by district. The transformation of Abuja under your watch is bold, visible and worthy of commendation,” the President said.

In his remarks, Wike explained that the project was initiated following a request by the Body of Benchers to provide access roads that would ease movement within the district.

He assured residents that the Tinubu administration would fulfil all its promises to the people of the FCT, adding that the project would be completed by January 2027.

The minister further stated that the implementation of developmental projects in the FCT would continue uninterrupted despite political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Earlier, the Acting Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Richard Dauda, said the Institutional Research District, located in Phase III of the Federal Capital City, was conceived in the Abuja Master Plan to accommodate universities, research institutions and other government establishments.

According to him, the ongoing project involves the construction of Collector Road CO1 from Nile University to Ring Road III, covering about six kilometres, as well as the dualisation of the section linking Baze University Junction and Nile University.