FG to deploy 4,000 social media influencers for infrastructure showcase

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

The Federal Government plans to mobilize 4,000 social media influencers to highlight ongoing infrastructure projects across Nigeria, Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, announced in Abuja.

Speaking during an engagement with the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Umahi stated that the initiative aims to ensure the public, particularly youth, receives direct information regarding federal road and bridge construction.

“We have to fight this social media war. So, we have to launch 4,000 social media influencers to tell our stories.

“I am proud of what the President is doing in infrastructure… so, we have to tell our stories,” Umahi said.

Describing President Bola Tinubu as an “infrastructure President,” Umahi noted that active construction sites span every geopolitical zone, providing ample evidence of federal performance.

He urged student leaders to independently inspect federal project sites, share their observations publicly, and advise the ministry on areas needing improvement.

Addressing student safety, the minister revealed plans to construct campus-adjacent infrastructure, including pedestrian bridges and access spur roads.

He cited ongoing assessments for the University of Abuja and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, while providing an update on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, noting that a 105-kilometer pavement section is scheduled for completion by November.

Earlier, NANS President, Comrade Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, presented a report following the student body’s tour of federal road projects across Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, and Sokoto states.

Afeez commended the scale of road developments in the Northwest and requested the urgent construction of a pedestrian bridge at the Federal Co-operative College along the busy Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano highway to protect students.