Aug 24, 2026

Obi Demands Urgent Fix of Existing Roads as 8-Hour Trips Stretch to Two Days

By Afolabi Olaiya Idowu in politics

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Lagos / Onitsha – August 24, 2026—Peter Obi, former Anambra State governor and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has once again called on the Federal Government to prioritize the reconstruction and maintenance of existing roads over the launch of new projects, citing the severe hardship faced by ordinary Nigerians.

In a statement shared on his official X account on Monday, Obi described how a journey that should take a maximum of eight hours from Onitsha to Lagos now stretches into nearly two days.

He recounted leaving someone in Onitsha on Saturday night who planned to board the first bus to Lagos on Sunday morning.

By the time Obi left Lagos at 8pm the following day, the traveler had still not arrived. The person only reached Lagos around 2pm on Monday.

“A journey that usually takes a maximum of 8 hours now takes nearly two days,” Obi wrote. He stressed that the crisis extends far beyond poor road surfaces.

Prolonged travel leads to lost man-hours, passengers sleeping on highways, wasted fuel, damaged vehicles, delayed goods, and businesses losing millions of naira daily.

Focus on Function Over Headlines

Obi argued that government infrastructure decisions should be measured by the number of lives and livelihoods improved, not by the size or publicity of a project.

“Nigerians do not need new projects just for the headlines. We need functional roads that make life and economic activity possible,” he stated.

This latest intervention continues a consistent position Obi has held for months.

In June 2026, he specifically urged the government to suspend new road constructions and dualization schemes until critical existing highways, such as the Asaba–Benin corridor, are properly rehabilitated.

That route links travelers from several South-East, South-South and North-Central states to Lagos and remains in a state of disrepair, causing persistent congestion and economic losses.

Broader Economic and Social Impact

Poor road conditions, according to Obi, disrupt the movement of people and goods, inflate transport costs and undermine productivity across the economy.

He maintained that scarce public resources should first restore motorable conditions on roads already serving millions of Nigerians before new projects are announced.

The NDC candidate concluded on a hopeful note, insisting that a better-managed Nigeria remains achievable. “A new Nigeria is POSSIBLE, and Nigeria will be OK,” he wrote, signing off with his familiar “-PO”.

As Nigeria continues to grapple with infrastructure deficits amid economic pressures, Obi’s repeated calls place renewed pressure on the Tinubu administration to demonstrate that road rehabilitation is receiving the priority attention demanded by the daily experiences of citizens and businesses.