Tinubu: Roads, Rail, Ports Critical to Cutting Logistics Costs

By Temitope Adebayo

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said improved road, rail and port infrastructure will be central to reducing transportation and logistics costs and making goods more affordable across Nigeria.

Tinubu stated this in his 2026 Independence Day address to Nigerians, where he linked efficient transportation to lower production costs, improved market access and broader economic prosperity.

The President said his administration was building and completing infrastructure connecting farms and factories to markets, stressing that the movement of goods must become faster and more efficient.

According to him, the government’s strategy is to lower the cost of producing and moving the goods Nigerians consume.

“We are building and completing the roads, railways and ports that connect farms and factories to markets,” Tinubu said.

He explained that improved transport infrastructure would help reduce losses between farms and markets while enabling manufacturers and businesses to move their products more efficiently.

“When a farmer produces more cheaply, when fewer crops are lost between the farm and the market, when a manufacturer spends less on electricity, when a truck reaches its destination faster, and when the business environment fosters fair competition, all those savings will ultimately find their way into the price of goods in the market,” he said.

The President also identified transportation and storage as key components of the government’s agricultural development strategy, alongside mechanised irrigation, dry-season farming, improved access to seeds and fertiliser, and increased mechanisation.

He said the broader objective was to create an economy where farmers could produce more at lower costs, factories could operate efficiently and businesses could access markets more easily.

Tinubu further linked transportation infrastructure to industrial growth and job creation, saying the government would support businesses with the infrastructure and financing required to expand production.

The President said the country had now moved from the phase of economic reforms to what he described as an “age of prosperity”, with the reduction of the cost of living remaining a major priority.

He said efficient transportation would therefore play an important role in ensuring that lower production and logistics costs eventually translate into more affordable goods for Nigerians.