By Nkechi Eze
The Honourable Minister of Works, David Umahi, has been honoured with the Extraordinary Personality of the Year Award by the Silverbird Group, describing the recognition as “another feather to keep flying” in Nigeria’s ongoing infrastructure transformation.
The award was conferred on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at Eko Hotels & Suites, during a ceremony that drew top government officials, lawmakers, technocrats and stakeholders from across the country.
In an official signed statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, the event was described as a gathering united by recognition of a minister whose tenure has come to symbolise scale, speed and ambition in the nation’s infrastructure drive.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister, the Minister of State for Works, Barr. Bello Muhammad Goronyo, said the honour was a deserved acknowledgment of visible performance and difficult decisions taken in the national interest.
“We cannot but register our sincere gratitude and appreciation for this award for identifying our own, the Honourable Minister of Works, HE Senator Engr. David Umahi, CON, for the works he has been doing in this country,” Goronyo said.
He noted that since assuming office, Umahi’s leadership has been shaped by experience and the deployment of innovative construction technologies to tackle long-standing infrastructure challenges.
“This man brought to bear lots of experience, skills, and innovative technologies in the road construction industry,” he added.
Goronyo highlighted four major legacy projects redefining national connectivity: the 750-kilometre Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, the 1,068-kilometre Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, the Transhara corridor stretching from Calabar through Ebonyi and Benue to Abuja, and the 420-kilometre Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe–Borno corridor. He said these projects, alongside accelerated road and bridge construction across the six geopolitical zones, have raised expectations of what is achievable within a single administration.
He attributed the pace of progress to the infrastructure-focused policy direction of President Bola Tinubu.
“We have to say that all these achievements are recorded because of our president, HE Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR,” he stated.
In a symbolic gesture that drew applause at the ceremony, Goronyo disclosed that Umahi had directed that the award be dedicated to the President and to the collective team driving the projects.
“The minister has mandated me to dedicate the award to HE Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR for the support, for all he has been doing, for prioritizing infrastructure as key, and to dedicate the award also to our team, the Ministry of Works, the management as well as the contractors,” he said.
He added that within the Ministry of Works, the recognition would serve as renewed motivation rather than a moment of rest.
“For us in the Ministry of Works, it’s another feather for us to continue to fly and work hard so that Nigeria will reach the desires and aspirations of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
On its part, Silverbird Group noted that since Umahi assumed office, the Ministry is managing 2,065 ongoing projects nationwide. According to the organisers, his mission has remained consistent: rehabilitate existing roads, construct new ones and ensure durability.
They observed that the scope and ambition of the legacy projects underscore a leadership approach focused on long-term national connectivity and economic integration, positioning infrastructure as a central pillar of development.
