The Africa Development Studies Centre (ADSC) has raised alarm over worsening traffic congestion in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), warning that the persistent gridlock has escalated from a daily inconvenience into a major governance challenge.
In a statement obtained by The Trumpet on Friday, the President of ADSC, Sir Victor Oluwafemi, said the growing traffic paralysis in Abuja is negatively impacting national productivity, public service delivery, workers’ wellbeing, investor confidence, and the long-term liveability of the nation’s capital.
“Our findings are clear: Abuja’s morning and evening congestion has moved beyond inconvenience. It is now a structural governance challenge,” Oluwafemi stated.
According to the research body, the crisis is not solely the result of inadequate road infrastructure but of excessive institutional concentration within the city centre. It noted that the clustering of government offices and high-activity institutions in central Abuja fuels heavy traffic flows in one direction during mornings and reverses in the evenings, resulting in daily gridlock.
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Oluwafemi cautioned that expanding road networks alone would not provide a lasting solution, citing global urban planning evidence that such measures often offer only temporary relief before congestion resurfaces.
The Centre called on President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Nyesom Wike, to adopt an evidence-based decongestion strategy anchored on accelerated development of satellite towns in Kwali, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Bwari and Abaji; administrative decentralisation through the relocation of non-sensitive, high-traffic government functions to satellite municipalities; and the digitisation of government operations to reduce physical movement and improve service delivery.
“These towns must evolve into functional municipal centres where people can work, access services and invest without being compelled to commute daily into central Abuja,” Oluwafemi stressed.
Beyond the FCT, ADSC also recommended the relocation of suitable federal institutions to other states as a way of spreading development and easing the administrative burden on the capital.
“Abuja must not wait until it becomes permanently gridlocked before structural reforms are implemented. A capital that cannot move will eventually struggle to lead. The time to act is now,” he added.
