Muhammadu Buhari

June 2021 commercial commissioning of the 156 km double-track SGR between Apapa, Lagos and Moniya, Ibadan — including Apapa Port spur for container traffic. First Nigerian SGR with double-track and seaport connection.

Sept 2020 commissioning of the 327 km Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri line — 33 years after construction began (1987). Nigeria's first standard-gauge line to enter commercial service end-to-end. Connects Warri port to Itakpe iron-ore mines.

First operational standard-gauge passenger line in Nigeria. Commissioned July 2016. 186 km, ~2 hr journey. Suspended briefly after the March 2022 attack; resumed December 2022.

284 km cross-border standard-gauge line connecting Kano to Maradi in Niger Republic. Flagged off Feb 2021. Strategic regional integration play. Construction continues; first ~30 km completed.

March 2021 award to CCECC to rehabilitate the 1,443 km PH-Aba-Enugu-Makurdi-Lafia-Maiduguri eastern narrow-gauge line. Includes Bonny deep-sea port spur. Largest single rail contract in Nigerian history; financing closed under Tinubu (2024).

Five Sukuk bond issuances (2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022) raised ~₦742bn to construct/reconstruct 71 federal roads totalling ~4,000 km across all 6 geopolitical zones.

Nigeria's first deep-sea port. PPP with China Harbour Engineering Co + Tolaram Group. 16.5m draft accommodates Panamax/Post-Panamax ships. Commissioned Jan 2023, operational mid-2023.

Decades-old project finally delivered. Financed via Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF). Commissioned May 2023 — opened just days before Buhari left office. Later named after Buhari.

Major reconstruction of Nigeria's busiest highway corridor. Section II (Berger-Lotto, 44 km) commissioned March 2022; ~90% complete by end of Buhari tenure. Final 4 km near Lagos delayed by sub-soil replacement, finished under Tinubu (2024).

2-km bridge across the River Benue, linking Nasarawa and Benue states. Commissioned 2020.

Dualisation flagged under PIDF. Multi-section construction by Julius Berger, CCECC, Setraco. Still under construction.

38 km road + 6 bridges connecting Bonny Island (NLNG plant) to the mainland for the first time ever. Jointly funded by FGN + NLNG.

German engineering partnership signed 2019 to expand grid from ~5,000 to 25,000 MW. Phase 1 (transformer + transmission upgrades) ongoing; Phase 1 delivered 10 substations + 30 transformers.

NCC auctioned 3.5GHz 5G licences in December 2021. MTN + Mafab won at $273.6m each. Airtel later acquired a third licence (2022). First 5G commercial launch August 2022.

Aug 2022 reopening of Enugu airport after 12-month closure for runway reconstruction. ₦11bn rebuild to full international-flight standard; international flights resumed Sep 2023 (Ethiopian Airlines).

Mar 2022 commissioning of the new MMIA international terminal — 14m pax/yr capacity; 7 air-bridges. Built by CCECC under the same 2013 China EXIM framework as Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt terminals (4-airport package).

Apr 2022 commissioning of the new Kano international terminal — 8m pax/yr capacity. Part of the 2013 China EXIM 4-airport package; serves Northern Nigeria + Hajj operations from Saudia.

Dec 2018 commissioning of the new $500m Abuja international terminal — 15m pax/yr capacity (5× old terminal); 5 air-bridges, biometric immigration. Built by CCECC under $500m China EXIM loan signed 2013.

Oct 2018 commissioning of the new Port Harcourt international terminal — 7m pax/yr capacity. Completes the 2013 China EXIM 4-airport package (with Lagos, Abuja, Kano). Serves Niger Delta oil + business traffic.

Mar-Apr 2017 — full closure of Abuja airport for 6 weeks for total runway rehabilitation; flights diverted to Kaduna. First Nigerian airport runway rebuilt to ICAO Code-F (A380-capable). Completed 19 days ahead of schedule.

Private refinery commissioned May 2023 in Lagos (Lekki Free Zone). Largest single-train refinery globally. Began processing in January 2024.

Maire Tecnimont (Italian) awarded $1.5bn contract for Port Harcourt; Saipem SPA awarded $1.4bn for Warri ($897m) + Kaduna ($586m). Phase 1 Port Harcourt operational restart Nov 2024 (under Tinubu).

Largest gas pipeline project in West Africa. Flagged off June 2020. Designed to deliver 2 bcf/day for power + industrial use across northern Nigeria.

4-pillar programme (2016): N-Power (graduate jobs for 1m beneficiaries), Conditional Cash Transfer (₦5,000/month to poor households), Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (9.5m pupils fed daily), TraderMoni / GEEP (1m+ micro-loans). Largest African social-safety net by reach.

Coalition Against COVID-19 raised ₦44bn+ in private-sector donations (CBN, Aliko Dangote Foundation, MTN, Access Bank). Built 39 isolation centres + delivered medical supplies during 2020 lockdown.

Mandatory NIN-to-SIM linkage from Dec 2020 drove the enrolment base from ~42m to ~104m people by 2023. Foundation for KYC across banking, telecom, government services.

CBN programme launched November 2015 — single-digit-rate loans to smallholder farmers via anchor companies. Disbursed ₦1.07tn to 4.5m farmers across rice, maize, wheat, cotton, cassava. Made Nigeria the largest rice producer in Africa.

Annual omnibus tax bills modernised the Nigerian fiscal framework: VAT raised 5%→7.5%, small-business CIT exemption (<₦25m), digital-economy taxes, capital-gains reforms, tertiary-education tax band changes.

Launched October 2021 by CBN. First African CBDC. Designed for retail + wholesale payments. Adoption underwhelming but the technical infrastructure was a first-mover regulatory framework that informed AfCFTA digital settlements.

Signed Aug 2021 after 21 years of legislative delay. Restructured NNPC into NNPC Ltd (commercial), created NUPRC (upstream regulator) and NMDPRA (midstream/downstream regulator). Mandated 3% host-community fund + 30% NNPC frontier exploration fund.

Nigeria ratified AfCFTA in December 2020 (after 18 months of hesitation). Eliminates tariffs on 90% of goods across 54 African countries. Critical for non-oil export growth.

Macroeconomic recovery plan after the 2016 recession. Targeted 7% GDP growth, single-digit inflation, $1bn export expansion. Foundation for the structural reforms later finalised under Tinubu.

Federal Ministry of Finance policy promising 2.5–5% of recovered loot to whistleblowers. By 2019 had triggered ₦527bn+ in actual asset recoveries.

Buhari ordered (Aug 2015) all MDAs to remit revenue to a single CBN account, closing thousands of commercial-bank ledgers. Recovered ₦5tn+ of float capital. Eliminated idle cash sitting outside government oversight.