By Tolúlopé Olátúnjí
The Federal Government has debunked rumors spreading to the effect that Murtala Muhammed Expressway in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was renamed Wole Soyinka Way. The Presidency clarified that a new Arterial Road N20 was what was named after Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka.
In a statement issued by Rabiu Ibrahim, Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, the federal government clarified that it was a new Arterial Road N20 that was named after Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka.
The statement reads in part: “We have noted the rumors being circulated that the Murtala Muhammed Expressway in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has been renamed Wole Soyinka Way. The renaming of the Murtala Muhammed Expressway 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),” the statement clarified.
It added, “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.”
“Therefore, it is the Arterial Road N20 that 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 Mohammed,” the statement emphasized.
The Minister of Information and Orientation urged the public to disregard any misinformation regarding the renaming of the Murtala Muhammed Expressway, stating that the report is entirely false.
