The Federal Government on Monday dismissed false information that Abuja’s Murtala Muhammed Expressway had been renamed Wole Soyinka Way.
The FG, in a statement signed by the media aide to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Rabiu Ibrahim, clarified that the renaming of the expressway was never considered by the current administration.
The confusion stems from a recent event on June 4, 2024, when President Bola Tinubu inaugurated a new road in the Federal Capital Territory and named it after the Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka.
The new road named after Soyinka was designated as Arterial Road N20 and stretches from Katampe to Jahi, connecting the Outer Northern Expressway (also known as Murtala Muhammed Expressway) to the Northern Parkway (Ahmadu Bello Way).
During the inauguration, FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, proposed that the new road be named after Soyinka, a suggestion that Tinubu approved.
On Monday, the Federal Government said, “We have noted the rumours being circulated that the Murtala Muhammed Expressway in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has been renamed as Wole Soyinka Way. The renaming of the Murtala Muhammed Expressway Way has never been contemplated by this administration.
“For the record, on June 4, 2024, President Bola Tinubu inaugurated a new road in the FCT codenamed Arterial Road N20 (from Katampe to Jahi), which links the existing Outer Northern Expressway (also known as Murtala Muhammed Expressway) to the Northern Parkway (also called Ahmadu Bello Way).
“During the inauguration of the N20 (which is a new road), the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, proposed to the President that the road be named after Prof Wole Soyinka, and the President agreed,” the statement read in part.
The government emphasised that the Murtala Muhammed Expressway remained unchanged, continuing to honour the legacy of the former Head of State, the late Gen. Murtala Ramat Muhammed.
“Therefore, the Arterial Road N20 is named after Prof Soyinka. The Murtala Muhammed Expressway remains unchanged and continues to bear the name of our esteemed former Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed,” Ibrahim stressed.
