Rev. David Ugolor
A Monthly Open Letter on Leadership, Governance and Public Accountability
Issue No. 1 | July 2026
An Open Letter to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Governors of Edo and Delta States, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and Political Leaders
Your Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
Your Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo
Governor, Edo State
Your Excellency, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori
Governor, Delta State
The Managing Director
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)
Distinguished Political Leaders and Elected Representatives of Edo and Delta States
Your Excellencies,
Welcome to the inaugural edition of The Common Good Letter—a monthly public engagement platform dedicated to advancing leadership, accountability, good governance and public policy in the service of the Nigerian people.
The purpose of this series is simple: to encourage constructive dialogue with those entrusted with public office, to celebrate progress where it exists, and to speak candidly where urgent action is required. Every letter will be guided by one principle—that public office is a sacred trust, and that governance must always serve the common good.
Today, I write on a matter that demands immediate and coordinated action.
The Benin–Sapele–Warri highway and its connecting corridors have deteriorated into one of the greatest infrastructure failures in southern Nigeria. What should be a strategic gateway to the Niger Delta has become a corridor of hardship, insecurity and economic decline.
As a son of the Niger Delta and a civil society advocate who has spent more than three decades promoting transparency, accountability and sustainable development, I believe silence is no longer an option.
Every day, thousands of Nigerians endure hours of avoidable delays, damaged vehicles, escalating transport costs and significant economic losses. Businesses struggle to move goods. Farmers cannot access markets efficiently. Students and workers arrive late or abandon journeys altogether. Patients requiring urgent medical attention face dangerous delays that can cost lives.
More alarming is the growing insecurity along sections of the corridor. The deplorable condition of the road has created opportunities for kidnappers and other criminal elements who prey on stranded motorists and passengers. Families have endured kidnappings, paid enormous ransoms, buried loved ones and continue to live with the trauma of violence that should never have been allowed to flourish.
This is no longer merely a road maintenance issue.
It is a public safety emergency, an economic emergency and a governance emergency.
Before 1991, Edo and Delta formed the old Bendel State. The creation of two states was intended to deepen development and bring government closer to the people. More than three decades later, citizens are entitled to ask whether that aspiration has been fulfilled when one of the most important roads connecting both states has deteriorated to this extent.
Successive governments have announced interventions, while significant public resources have reportedly been allocated by the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry of Works and the Niger Delta Development Commission. Yet the lived experience of commuters suggests that far more remains to be done. Nigerians deserve timely delivery of projects, transparent implementation and visible improvements that reflect the resources committed.
Today, there is an opportunity for exceptional leadership.
The Federal Government is led by the All Progressives Congress (APC). Edo State is governed by the APC, and Delta State now also belongs to the APC political family. Never before has there been such an opportunity for seamless cooperation across these levels of government to resolve a challenge of immense regional and national importance.
Political alignment should produce development dividends for citizens.
The people deserve to see the benefits of collaboration translated into safer roads, faster project delivery and renewed public confidence.
Accordingly, I respectfully urge the following actions:
* A Joint Infrastructure Emergency Declaration: The Governors of Edo and Delta States should jointly declare the Benin–Sapele–Warri corridor an Infrastructure Emergency Zone and establish a Joint High-Level Intervention Task Force in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Works.
* Presidential Leadership: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should direct accelerated reconstruction of all failed sections, remove administrative bottlenecks and ensure that adequate funding and effective supervision remain priorities until completion.
* Transparency and Accountability: The Federal Ministry of Works and the NDDC should publish comprehensive information on contracts, funding releases, implementation milestones and expected completion dates for projects along this corridor. Public confidence grows when information is openly shared.
* Independent Oversight: Civil society organisations, engineering professional bodies, transport unions, traditional institutions and host communities should participate in monitoring project implementation to strengthen accountability and improve delivery.
* Immediate Safety Measures: Pending complete reconstruction, emergency repairs, effective traffic management, improved signage, enhanced lighting and increased security patrols should be deployed to protect commuters.
The Human and Economic Cost
Behind every failed section of road is a human story.
There are traders whose livelihoods have been disrupted.
Farmers whose produce perishes before reaching markets.
Transport operators struggling with rising maintenance costs.
Parents unable to reach hospitals in emergencies.
Students whose education suffers because travel has become unpredictable.
Families forced into debt after paying ransom for abducted relatives.
Communities living in fear simply because a strategic highway has become a haven for criminality.
These are not isolated incidents.
They are daily realities that demand urgent public action.
A Test of Leadership
History remembers leaders who confront difficult problems with courage and cooperation.
The condition of the Benin–Sapele–Warri corridor presents such a moment.
This is an opportunity for the President, the Governors of Edo and Delta States, the leadership of the NDDC, elected representatives and political leaders to demonstrate that responsive governance remains possible in Nigeria.
The people are not asking for miracles.
They are asking for safe roads, transparent governance and effective leadership.
The Benin–Sapele–Warri corridor should no longer symbolise neglect.
It should become a national example of how collaboration, accountability and political will can restore public confidence and unlock economic opportunity.
The time for decisive action is now.
Respectfully,
Rev. David Ugolor
Executive Director
Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ)
Civil Society Advocate | Anti-Corruption Campaigner | Development Practitioner
A Monthly Open Letter on Leadership, Governance and Public Accountability
Issue No. 1 | July 2026
An Open Letter to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Governors of Edo and Delta States, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and Political Leaders
Your Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
Your Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo
Governor, Edo State
Your Excellency, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori
Governor, Delta State
The Managing Director
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)
Distinguished Political Leaders and Elected Representatives of Edo and Delta States
Your Excellencies,
Welcome to the inaugural edition of The Common Good Letter—a monthly public engagement platform dedicated to advancing leadership, accountability, good governance and public policy in the service of the Nigerian people.
The purpose of this series is simple: to encourage constructive dialogue with those entrusted with public office, to celebrate progress where it exists, and to speak candidly where urgent action is required. Every letter will be guided by one principle—that public office is a sacred trust, and that governance must always serve the common good.
Today, I write on a matter that demands immediate and coordinated action.
The Benin–Sapele–Warri highway and its connecting corridors have deteriorated into one of the greatest infrastructure failures in southern Nigeria. What should be a strategic gateway to the Niger Delta has become a corridor of hardship, insecurity and economic decline.
As a son of the Niger Delta and a civil society advocate who has spent more than three decades promoting transparency, accountability and sustainable development, I believe silence is no longer an option.
Every day, thousands of Nigerians endure hours of avoidable delays, damaged vehicles, escalating transport costs and significant economic losses. Businesses struggle to move goods. Farmers cannot access markets efficiently. Students and workers arrive late or abandon journeys altogether. Patients requiring urgent medical attention face dangerous delays that can cost lives.
More alarming is the growing insecurity along sections of the corridor. The deplorable condition of the road has created opportunities for kidnappers and other criminal elements who prey on stranded motorists and passengers. Families have endured kidnappings, paid enormous ransoms, buried loved ones and continue to live with the trauma of violence that should never have been allowed to flourish.
This is no longer merely a road maintenance issue.
It is a public safety emergency, an economic emergency and a governance emergency.
Before 1991, Edo and Delta formed the old Bendel State. The creation of two states was intended to deepen development and bring government closer to the people. More than three decades later, citizens are entitled to ask whether that aspiration has been fulfilled when one of the most important roads connecting both states has deteriorated to this extent.
Successive governments have announced interventions, while significant public resources have reportedly been allocated by the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry of Works and the Niger Delta Development Commission. Yet the lived experience of commuters suggests that far more remains to be done. Nigerians deserve timely delivery of projects, transparent implementation and visible improvements that reflect the resources committed.
Today, there is an opportunity for exceptional leadership.
The Federal Government is led by the All Progressives Congress (APC). Edo State is governed by the APC, and Delta State now also belongs to the APC political family. Never before has there been such an opportunity for seamless cooperation across these levels of government to resolve a challenge of immense regional and national importance.
Political alignment should produce development dividends for citizens.
The people deserve to see the benefits of collaboration translated into safer roads, faster project delivery and renewed public confidence.
Accordingly, I respectfully urge the following actions:
* A Joint Infrastructure Emergency Declaration: The Governors of Edo and Delta States should jointly declare the Benin–Sapele–Warri corridor an Infrastructure Emergency Zone and establish a Joint High-Level Intervention Task Force in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Works.
* Presidential Leadership: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should direct accelerated reconstruction of all failed sections, remove administrative bottlenecks and ensure that adequate funding and effective supervision remain priorities until completion.
* Transparency and Accountability: The Federal Ministry of Works and the NDDC should publish comprehensive information on contracts, funding releases, implementation milestones and expected completion dates for projects along this corridor. Public confidence grows when information is openly shared.
* Independent Oversight: Civil society organisations, engineering professional bodies, transport unions, traditional institutions and host communities should participate in monitoring project implementation to strengthen accountability and improve delivery.
* Immediate Safety Measures: Pending complete reconstruction, emergency repairs, effective traffic management, improved signage, enhanced lighting and increased security patrols should be deployed to protect commuters.
The Human and Economic Cost
Behind every failed section of road is a human story.
There are traders whose livelihoods have been disrupted.
Farmers whose produce perishes before reaching markets.
Transport operators struggling with rising maintenance costs.
Parents unable to reach hospitals in emergencies.
Students whose education suffers because travel has become unpredictable.
Families forced into debt after paying ransom for abducted relatives.
Communities living in fear simply because a strategic highway has become a haven for criminality.
These are not isolated incidents.
They are daily realities that demand urgent public action.
A Test of Leadership
History remembers leaders who confront difficult problems with courage and cooperation.
The condition of the Benin–Sapele–Warri corridor presents such a moment.
This is an opportunity for the President, the Governors of Edo and Delta States, the leadership of the NDDC, elected representatives and political leaders to demonstrate that responsive governance remains possible in Nigeria.
The people are not asking for miracles.
They are asking for safe roads, transparent governance and effective leadership.
The Benin–Sapele–Warri corridor should no longer symbolise neglect.
It should become a national example of how collaboration, accountability and political will can restore public confidence and unlock economic opportunity.
The time for decisive action is now.
Respectfully,
Rev. David Ugolor
Executive Director
Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ)
Civil Society Advocate | Anti-Corruption Campaigner | Development Practitioner
