FG Defies Benin-Asaba Highway Concessionaire, Orders Emergency Action
• Umahi: Over 80% of inherited federal roads under rehabilitation
•Tinubu approves redesign of 400km Lokoja-Benin-Warri road
•Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road to be completed by December
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has ordered the immediate deployment of major contractors to all three sections of the Benin-Asaba Federal Road, overriding the objections of the road’s concessionaire to emergency intervention by the federal government.
The minister said the worsening condition of the road had reached a point where the overall public interest must take precedence over the existing concession agreement, directing contractors to restore failed sections of the strategic highway at the expense of the federal government.
The directive came after the concessionaire, according to the minister, declined three options proposed by the federal government to enable it to intervene on the road, which has deteriorated significantly in recent months, causing hardship for motorists and other road users.
Umahi had visited the Benin-Asaba Road about a week ago and assembled contractors to prepare for immediate palliative works on the worst sections. However, the concession agreement reportedly requires the consent of the concessionaire before the federal government can intervene on the road.
According to a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, that permission was not granted by the concessionaire.
The statement said the minister subsequently presented three options to the concessionaire, “any one of which would have enabled the federal government to move in and address the worsening condition of the road.” “Unfortunately, none of the options was accepted by the concessionaire,” it added.
The ministry further alleged that shortly after Umahi left Asaba, the already limited equipment deployed by the concessionaire to the road was reduced to just one machine, worsening the condition and increasing the suffering of motorists.
The minister, according to the statement, has therefore directed the immediate deployment of major contractors within the corridor to all three sections of the Benin-Asaba Road to restore the failed portions.
“The honourable minister of works has directed the immediate deployment of major contractors within the corridor to all three sections of the Benin-Asaba Road to restore the failed sections and bring relief to the people, with the cost of the emergency intervention being borne by the federal government,” the statement said.
Beyond the emergency repairs, Umahi has directed the immediate redesign of the entire route for reconstruction with reinforced concrete pavement.
The ministry said the immediate intervention would restore the failed portions of the road, after which the entire sections would be rehabilitated using reinforced concrete pavement.
The development represents a direct intervention by the federal government in a road concession where the existing agreement had restricted its ability to respond quickly to emergencies.
The ministry blamed the constraint partly on the concession agreement entered into by the previous administration, saying its terms “weigh heavily against the federal government’s ability to intervene quickly in the interest of the public in a situation like this.”
The statement said Umahi had accepted responsibility for the concerns and suffering of Nigerians using the road, but faulted the concessionaire for failing to sufficiently take into account the hardship being experienced by motorists and residents of Edo State.
The Benin-Asaba Road is one of the major highways linking the South-west and South-south regions with the South-east, carrying substantial passenger and commercial traffic.
On the Benin-Sapele Road, the ministry said the governments of Edo and Delta States, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the federal government were intervening on different sections of the highway, with palliative and permanent works ongoing on various portions.
For the Ifaki-Ekiti-Kabba Road, the federal government, according to Umahi, is engaging Gamji Nigeria Company Limited and Dangote Plc on emergency and permanent interventions on the worst sections, while efforts are being made to mobilise the contractor financially for more extensive permanent works.
On the Sokoto-Zamfara-Katsina Road, the ministry said the inherited dualisation project, covering about 350 kilometres, had been redesigned, with most sections now being reconstructed with reinforced concrete pavement.
More than 50 kilometres of one carriageway from Sokoto towards Zamfara have been completed with reinforced concrete pavement, while some sections between Zamfara and Katsina have also been completed.
The ministry also said the federal government had completed the 118-kilometre Lot 1 of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road, mostly with reinforced concrete pavement, while Lot 2, covering 164 kilometres, was more than 60 per cent completed.
The entire Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano project is scheduled for completion by December 2026, it explained, while solar-powered lighting is being installed along the route to improve night-time visibility and security.
Other emergency interventions, Umahi said, are being undertaken on the Bauchi-Jigawa Road, Sagamu-Ore Road, East-West Road and Abuja-Lokoja Road.
On the Sagamu-Ore Road, the ministry said 48 kilometres of the 96-kilometre route had been completed with reinforced concrete pavement, while an abandoned 24-kilometre section around Ore had been ordered for immediate restoration. Solar lights are also being installed along the entire route.
Flooded sections of the Sagamu-Ore-Benin Road and other affected federal roads in Ondo State, he explained, are being designed for emergency procurement and intervention.
The ministry said critical and failed sections of the East-West Road, including defective portions of bridges, were also being prepared for emergency intervention, while three critical sections of the Abuja-Lokoja Road without existing contracts were being procured for emergency works.
On the Lokoja-Benin-Warri Road, he said that President Bola Tinubu has directed the complete redesign and procurement of the approximately 400-kilometre dualised route covering uncompleted sections, with reinforced concrete pavement to be adopted, while palliative works continue.
In Lagos, the ministry said weekly maintenance of the underwater elements of Carter Bridge was continuing, while the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) had commenced work on a permanent replacement bridge.
The federal government is also at the final stage of determining the appropriate intervention for defective underwater structural elements of the Third Mainland Bridge.
Meanwhile, work has commenced on a flooded section of the Lagos-Ibadan Road, with the ministry identifying other flood-damaged sections across the six geopolitical zones for immediate attention.
On the Niger bridges, he said intervention works are ongoing on the approach roads to the Second Niger Bridge, while the First Niger Bridge has been closed to traffic for comprehensive rehabilitation. The contractor has mobilised to site, with major rehabilitation also underway on the road from Summit Junction to the First Niger Bridge.
The ministry said the federal government was currently working on more than 80 per cent of inherited federal roads, describing the scale of intervention as unprecedented. It added that the administration was increasingly adopting reinforced concrete pavement as a permanent solution, with such roads expected to have lifespans of between 50 and 100 years.
The ministry acknowledged public concerns over the condition of several roads but said the scale of infrastructure deterioration inherited by the administration meant that all problems could not be resolved within three years.
It urged Nigerians to continue sending reports of failed roads while also updating the ministry when emergency interventions had been completed, noting that some old photographs and reports of road failures continued to circulate on social media after remedial works had been carried out.
