Southern Adamawa Cannot Continue Like This: Sub-regional Neglect Deepens as Ṇew Data Shows Lopsided Infrastructure Spread in Adamawa State (2019–2025)

By News Rendezvous Editorial Team | Yola, November 2025

Southern Adamawa, a region once celebrated for its agricultural wealth, cultural diversity, and unwavering political loyalty, has become the symbol of infrastructural neglect in Adamawa State. Despite years of electoral goodwill, the zone continues to suffer from poor roads, lack of federal presence, and an absence of higher institutions, challenges that have left communities frustrated and disconnected from the state’s development pulse.

Infrastructure Reality Check

A new review of Executive Council–approved projects between 2019 and 2025 reveals a concerning imbalance in infrastructure distribution across the three senatorial zones of Adamawa State. The report highlights how massive investments were channelled into Adamawa Central and Northern zones — including Yola’s urban renewal and multiple flyovers — while Southern Adamawa lagged far behind in major asphalt or bridge projects.

 

Data Snapshot (2019–2025): A Case of Unequal Asphalt

Zone	Major Road Projects	Total Estimated Value (₦)	Period
Central (Yola–Girei axis)	Flyover at Total Junction, Yola; Urban renewal roads; 18 km Girei–Pariya–Wuro Bokki Road	₦4.4 bn +	2020–2025
Northern (Mubi–Michika–Madagali)	11.2 km Plum Road (₦3.89 bn); 17.5 km Mubi–Garta–Kamale (₦6.59 bn); 14 km Sukur Road (₦4.43 bn); 10.3 km Kishinga Road (₦3.24 bn)	₦18.15 bn	2024–2025
Southern (Numan–Lamurde axis)	Rural roads (approved 2019), minor township grading; no major dualization or asphalt overlay above ₦2 bn reported	< ₦2 bn	2019–2025

Governor Fintiri’s Achievements

Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri’s administration has implemented numerous transformative projects, including the first-ever flyover in the entire Northeast region at Total Junction, Yola, and additional flyovers under construction. Across the northern zone, projects such as the ₦3.89 billion Plum Road in Michika, ₦6.59 billion Mubi–Garta–Kamale Road, ₦4.43 billion Sukur Road in Madagali, and ₦3.24 billion Kishinga Road reflect the governor’s continuing commitment to northern recovery and connectivity.

However, Southern Adamawa’s infrastructural record remains worrying. The Numan–Lamurde–Demsa corridor, one of the state’s most economically vital axes, continues to deteriorate. Federal roads remain impassable, while the region hosts no single federal institution. The once-promised Dong–Vulpi Road, a critical link for rural communities, remains a nightmare during rainy seasons. Despite massive electoral support for Governor Fintiri in both 2019 and 2023, the southern zone has seen limited state investment in comparison to other regions.

 

Data Box: Adamawa State Infrastructure Summary (2019–2025)

Category	Total Projects	Approx. Value (₦)	Dominant Zone
Roads & Bridges	37	₦65.8 billion	Central / North
Education (Mega Schools & Tertiary)	9	₦22 billion	Central / North
Urban Renewal & Housing	6	₦16 billion	Yola (Central)
Southern Zone Share (estimated)	6 projects	< ₦2 billion	—

 

Southern Adamawa’s Cry for Inclusion: Voices of Concern & Call for Unity

Civic groups and community leaders across Southern Adamawa are calling for a united approach to development advocacy. They argue that politics must give way to purpose, urging representatives from all parties to collectively engage the state government for equitable infrastructure.

“We cannot continue to give and ask for nothing in return,” one local leader lamented during a recent town hall in Numan.

 

Southern Adamawa, one of the state’s most resourceful and historically rich zones, continues to reel under the weight of infrastructural neglect and federal absence. Despite its immense contributions to Adamawa State’s politics, economy, and national service, the region remains the only zone in the state with no federal institution, no tertiary educational presence, and the worst road network in the state.

From Numan to Lamurde, and from Demsa to Guyuk and Shelleng, residents tell the same story of being cut off whenever it rains, of roads that have become gullies, and of a government presence that seems to fade the further south you go.

“There must be leadership, there must be focus, a need for one direction. We cannot continue to give and ask for nothing in return,” a concerned community leader lamented in Numan.

A People Who Served, Yet Underserved

The people of Numan, Demsa, and Lamurde are not strangers to sacrifice or service. Over the decades, Southern Adamawa has produced some of Nigeria’s finest military officers, police personnel, and civil administrators. During the post-independence years and the Nigerian Civil War, many sons and daughters of the region fought gallantly to defend the nation’s unity.

Retired military officers, some of whom now live quietly in their home communities, must endure roads so bad that a simple trip to Yola becomes a logistical nightmare. The irony is hard to miss, a people who served Nigeria with honour now live as though forgotten by the very country they helped to build.

“We are patriots. We have fought for this nation and continue to serve it in peace. All we ask for is inclusion, not privilege,” said a retired military officer from Lamurde.

If sacrifice and loyalty were currencies, Southern Adamawa would be the wealthiest of all. Yet, today, it stands as one of the poorest in infrastructural equity.

 

A Case of Unequal Asphalt Under Gov Fintiri

Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has been widely acknowledged for his ambitious infrastructure drive across Adamawa State. From flyovers to major township roads, his administration has transformed the face of Yola and much of Adamawa Central, a zone that, ironically, rejected him at the polls as if he were a plague designed to wipe them from the surface of the earth.

Meanwhile, the Southern zone, which overwhelmingly voted for him, still waits for a matching share of development.

Data Snapshot (2019–2025): Governor Fintiri’s Approved and Executed Road Projects

Zone / Project	Location	Length (km)	Cost (₦ Billion)	Status (as of 2025)
Central Zone	Yola–Bypass Flyover	2.4	9.80	Completed
	Yola–Township Roads	34.0	11.20	Completed
	Girei–Pariya–Wuro Bokki Road	18.0	4.40	Ongoing
Northern Zone	Mubi–Garta–Kamale Road	17.5	6.59	Completed
	Plum Road, Michika	11.2	3.89	Completed
	Sukur Road, Madagali	14.0	4.43	Completed
	Kishinga Road	10.3	3.24	Completed
Southern Zone	Numan Township Road (Phase I)	6.5	2.30	Completed
	Demsa–Dong Road	9.0	3.15	Ongoing
	Dong–Vulpi Road	12.0	—	Uncompleted
	Shelleng–Guyuk Link Road	23.0	—	Proposed / Unfunded

(Source: Adamawa State Ministry of Works and EXCO Approvals, 2019–2025.)

Despite these modest efforts, the disparity remains clear: while Adamawa Central and Northern zones have received an estimated ₦43.5 billion in road investments, Southern Adamawa’s share stands at less than ₦5.5 billion, a glaring imbalance, as if to spite the region making him their choice, besides that, this is a region that contributes massively to agriculture, human capital, and political stability of the state.

 

Voices from the South

In Demsa, residents recount decades of unfulfilled promises, especially along the Dong–Vulpi Road, which becomes impassable at the slightest rainfall. In Shelleng and Guyuk, where communities depend on farming and fishing, poor road access often means farm produce rots before reaching urban markets.

“Each election year, they come to us with promises, but after victory, our roads disappear from their map,” said a youth activist from Numan.

“We voted in unity; we deserve to be seen in unity,” added another resident from Demsa."

 

A Call for One Direction

Governor Fintiri’s legacy in infrastructural renewal is undeniable, yet the people who showed him much love feel a little of it, and governance demands equity. Southern Adamawa does not ask for special treatment, only fairness. The time has come for leaders across political divides to rally together, not as party loyalists but as custodians of a shared history, destiny and a common pang of neglect. What is needed is the need for leadership. There must be focus. And there must be one direction toward inclusion, justice, and balanced development.

If the people of Numan, Demsa, Lamurde, Guyuk, and Shelleng could give so much to Adamawa and Nigeria, then it is only fair that the state and the federation begin to give back.

Southern Adamawa cannot and must not continue like this.

 

Inline Data Box: Federal and State Presence Comparison

Indicator	Southern Adamawa	Central Adamawa	Northern Adamawa
Federal Roads (km)	92 (mostly unmotorable)	135	148
Federal Institutions	0	3	2
State Road Projects (2019–2025)	4 (2 completed)	7 (6 completed)	5 (5 completed)
Estimated Road Investment	₦5.5bn	₦24.0bn	₦19.5bn

Compiled from Adamawa State Executive Council Project Approvals (2019–2025).

As Governor Fintiri’s administration enters its final years, citizens of Southern Adamawa are hopeful that the governor’s inclusive leadership ethos will translate into tangible projects in the region. For a state that prides itself on unity in diversity, the challenge ahead lies not just in building roads, but in restoring trust, fairness, and a shared vision of progress.

Compiled by the News Rendezvous Editorial Team