The Federal Government has debunked rumours circulating that it had renamed Murtala Mohammed Way in Abuja, after Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka.
According to a statement issued by Rabiu Ibrahim, Special Assistant to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, the renaming of the expressway has never been considered by the current administration.
He explained that President Bola Tinubu recently inaugurated a new road in the FCT, codenamed Arterial Road N20, which connects the Outer Northern Expressway (also known as Murtala Mohammed Expressway) to the Northern Parkway (Ahmadu Bello Way).
The statement partly read “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 Mohammed Expressway) to the Northern Parkway (also called Ahmadu Bello Way).
“During the inauguration of the N20 (which is a new road), FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, proposed to the President that the road be named after Prof Wole Soyinka, and the President agreed.
He however acknowledged that the FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, proposed naming the new road after Prof Wole Soyinka, and the President agreed.
Ibrahim urged people to disregard any misinformation regarding the renaming the road, emphasizing that the report is entirely false.
“Therefore, it is the Arterial Road N20 that is named after Prof Soyinka. The Murtala Mohammed Expressway remains unchanged and continues to bear the name of our esteemed former Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Mohammed.”
