The Federal Government is set to establish a 4,000-member social media influencer network to promote and explain infrastructure projects being executed by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Minister of Works David Umahi announced the plan on Tuesday in Abuja while receiving a report from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on its assessment of federal road projects in Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna and Sokoto states.
Umahi said the initiative was aimed at taking the government’s message directly to Nigerians through social media, particularly the younger population.
“We have to fight this social media war. We have to launch 4,000 social media influencers to tell our stories,” he said.
The minister said the government needed to ensure that Nigerians were aware of its achievements and ongoing projects across the country.
He also disclosed that the ministry would consider requests for pedestrian bridges around university campuses after NANS raised concerns about road safety during its inspection of federal projects.
Umahi praised the students’ association for carrying out an independent assessment of federal infrastructure projects, saying citizen participation was important in monitoring government projects.
On the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the minister said work on the 105-kilometre pavement currently under construction was expected to be completed by November.
He, however, raised concerns about the alleged vandalism of infrastructure along the highway, saying some individuals had been removing safety installations and damaging public assets.
The coastal highway has been the subject of debate over its environmental impact assessment, alignment and potential effects on flooding in Lagos.
The Federal Ministry of Environment had conducted public-display exercises on environmental and social impact assessment reports for sections one and two of the project, covering the first 104 kilometres.
Questions over the project resurfaced following flooding in parts of Lagos, with some stakeholders calling for an independent investigation into whether the highway’s alignment, construction activities and drainage system contributed to the flooding.
The Federal Government has denied that the coastal highway was responsible for the flooding.
Umahi said the highway was designed partly to mitigate flooding, explaining that drainage facilities were incorporated into the project to channel water away from affected areas.
The minister urged citizens to protect public infrastructure and pledged continued engagement with Nigerians in monitoring federal projects.
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