Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

Reactivation of the abandoned 1987 327 km Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri line — fresh contract awarded 2013 to complete civil works started 26 years earlier. Trial runs began Sept 2012; line commissioned under Buhari (2020).

Ground-breaking Feb 2011 on the 186 km Abuja-Kaduna standard-gauge — Nigeria's first new SGR build. $874m loan signed Aug 2012 from China EXIM Bank. Civil works under CCECC; rail-laying complete by 2014.

Aug 2012 contract with CCECC for the 156 km Lagos-Ibadan SGR — the second SGR segment of the 25-year plan. Loan signed 2017; construction ran 2017-2021 under Buhari; commissioned June 2021.

657 km Calabar-Itu-Eket-Port Harcourt-Warri-Lagos corridor. Major dualisation work executed under Jonathan; sections still being completed under successors.

Federal-government-built generation plants totalling ~5,455 MW installed capacity (Olorunsogo, Omotosho, Calabar, Geregu, Egbema, Alaoji, Ihovbor, Sapele, Gbarain, Benin). Operated by NDPHC.

PHCN unbundled into 6 GenCos + 11 DisCos + 1 Transmission Company (TCN). Total sale: $2.53bn ($1.27bn GenCos, $1.26bn DisCos). 47,000+ PHCN staff paid severance. The most ambitious sector privatisation in Nigerian history.

May 2013 ground-breaking on the 700 MW Zungeru Hydropower plant on the Kaduna River, Niger State. Single largest hydro project in Nigeria. Civil works ran through Buhari; commissioned 2024 under Tinubu (see tinubu-zungeru-2024).

The 3,050 MW Mambilla hydro (Taraba State) was re-awarded in 2012 to CGGC/Sinohydro under a $5.79bn engineering contract. Still subject to dispute and not yet built — but the Jonathan-era re-award remains the live contractual basis.

Replacement for the failed NigComSat-1 (lost 2008). Launched December 2011 by China Great Wall. Still operational.

Terminal upgrades + new international terminals at Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt (the latter completed under Buhari). Cargo terminals at Abuja and Lagos.

$500m China EXIM-financed framework contract awarded Aug 2013 by Aviation Minister Stella Oduah to build new international terminals at Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt — plus four new cargo terminals. Ground-breaking 2014. Individual airports commissioned 2018-2022 under Buhari (see buhari-abuja-new-terminal-2018, buhari-lagos-new-terminal-2022, etc.).

Federally-built model schools across northern Nigeria integrating Quranic and Western education. ~165 model schools commissioned during the tenure.

Launched January 2012 after the partial petrol subsidy removal that triggered the Occupy Nigeria protests. Channelled ₦180bn into roads (East-West dualisation), Almajiri schools, maternal health, and youth employment. Wound down 2015.

Government strategy to grow manufacturing as a share of GDP from 4% (2014) to 10% by 2017. Focused on agro-allied, metals, oil & gas, construction. Established sector-specific industrial parks.

January 1, 2012: petrol pump price jumped from ₦65/L to ₦141/L overnight. Triggered the Occupy Nigeria protests; partial reversal to ₦97/L on Jan 16. Set the precedent that successive governments avoided until Tinubu in 2023.

Created the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority with $1bn initial capital. Three ring-fenced funds: Stabilisation, Future Generations, Nigeria Infrastructure Fund. AUM grew to $2.3bn+ by 2023.