LG Chairman Engages Works Minister on Temporary Opening of Bodo-Bonny Road

Chairman of Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, Abinye Pepple has reached out to the Minister of Works, David Umahi to solicit his support in temporarily opening the Bodo-Bonny Road for traffic this December.

Pepple met with Umahi on Thursday, December 4, 2025 in his office at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, where he conveyed to the Minister the expectations of the people of Bonny regarding the temporary opening of the road this festive season.

He said this was in furtherance of his administration’s desire to ensure that indigenes and visitors can comfortably spend the festive season in Bonny.

The Bonny LGA Chairman expressed profound gratitude to President Bola Tinubu on the Bonny-Bodo Road project as it nears completion for commissioning in the first quarter of 2026.

According to a statement by the spokesman to the Chairman, Wisdom Chapp-Jumbo, the meeting is in response to public concerns over the delayed temporary opening of the 37.9km road connecting Bonny to Port Harcourt, and other areas.

He said it was also an opportunity for the Chairman to brief the Federal Government on the Local Government’s preparedness for the successful opening of the road.

According to Chapp-Jumbo, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, confirmed that he will undertake a final joint inspection of the Bonny-Bodo Road on Monday, December 8, 2025, together with the Local Government and project contractor Julius Berger Nigeria.

He was it was part of ongoing preparations for its temporary opening to the public, assuring the Chairman of President Tinubu’s readiness to open the road temporarily to public use after the inspection.

The Bonny-Bodo Road project was first conceived in 1970 under the second National Development Plan of the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon’s military regime.

It was flagged off in 2017, by the then Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo after the Federal Government approved for Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) opted to fund it under the tax rebate plan of the Buhari administration.

In 2024, President Tinubu approved an additional N280 billion to ensure the project is completed and not abandoned again.

The Bonny LGA Chairman extended appreciation to the Minister of Works, David Umahi for his tireless efforts to complete the project under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu.