Zulum Unveils ₦15.9bn Post Office Flyover, Schools in Maiduguri

Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum on Sunday commissioned a multi-billion-naira flyover at the Post Office area of Maiduguri, the fourth such structure in the state capital, alongside new school facilities and road works as part of ongoing efforts to ease traffic, expand urban infrastructure and support post-insurgency recovery.

The nine-span flyover, constructed at a precise cost of ₦15,958,518,647.21, was completed in 11 months by Chinese firm Eighteenth Engineering Company (EEC). It was flagged off in April 2025 with an original target of eight to 10 months. Officials described the structure—approximately 600 metres long with ramps and multiple piers—as a key intervention on one of Maiduguri’s busiest corridors, expected to reduce congestion, improve road safety and speed the movement of people and goods.

“The Post Office nine-span flyover was constructed at a cost of fifteen billion, nine hundred and fifty-eight million, five hundred and eighteen thousand, six hundred and forty-seven Naira, twenty-one kobo only, and completed within 11 months,” Zulum said after the ceremony. “The project is expected to ease traffic congestion, improve road safety and facilitate the movement of people and goods along one of Maiduguri’s important transportation corridors.”

The governor also commissioned Larawaram Community Senior Secondary School and Shehu Sanda Kyarimi 1 Primary and Junior Day Secondary School. In addition, he unveiled a dualised 2.5-kilometre road with 5 kilometres of drainage running from Budum Tandari Junction to Kasuwan Shanu (the cattle market area), built at a cost of ₦5,002,552,300.08.

“Together, these projects represent our continued commitment to improving mobility, strengthening urban infrastructure and creating an environment that supports economic activity and social development,” Zulum stressed.

Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule, who joined the event, praised the initiative. “This is one of the projects we will be commissioning today, built by the administration of my dear brother, His Excellency, Babagana Zulum, for the benefit of humanity and for the benefit of our people,” Sule said, congratulating Maiduguri residents as the primary beneficiaries.

The Post Office flyover forms part of a broader urban-renewal drive under Zulum’s administration. Earlier projects include the state’s first flyover near the Customs Roundabout (commissioned in 2021) and subsequent structures such as the West End flyover. Contracts for the Post Office span and a related six-span bridge across the River Ngadda were signed in early 2025, with the flyover alone valued at more than ₦15.9 billion. Progress checks in mid-2026 showed the structure nearing completion, with Zulum repeatedly pressing contractors to meet deadlines ahead of the end of his tenure in May 2027.

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Residents and officials have long identified the Post Office corridor as a persistent bottleneck. The new infrastructure is expected to improve access to markets, hospitals, schools and commercial zones while supporting economic activity in a city still recovering from years of insurgency. Zulum’s government has simultaneously prioritised education, constructing and rehabilitating hundreds of schools and classrooms statewide in a bid to cut the number of out-of-school children and raise enrolment.

The dualised Kasuwan Shanu road and drainage works address flooding and mobility challenges in a key commercial and livestock-trading area. Combined with the schools and flyover, Sunday’s commissioning underscores the administration’s focus on interlocking investments in transport, education and urban services.

Zulum has repeatedly framed such projects as essential both for daily convenience and for long-term resilience, arguing that expanded infrastructure is necessary to accommodate Maiduguri’s growing population and to lock in gains from security improvements. With the Post Office flyover now open, attention is expected to turn to remaining capital projects the governor has pledged to complete before leaving office.