Edo Highway Nightmare: Umahi Threatens Concessionaire, NDDC Moves to Rescue Benin-Sapele Road

By Marian Alekhue

Minister of Works, David Umahi, has expressed outrage over the deplorable condition of the Benin-Agbor-Asaba Road in Edo State, blaming the concessionaire handling the project for what he described as incompetence and the alleged destruction of public infrastructure.

Umahi, who inspected the Benin-Agbor and Benin-Sapele highways on Tuesday, apologised to commuters and residents of Edo and Delta states over the hardship caused by the deteriorating condition of the major highways.

The minister accused the concessionaire of lacking the technical capacity, personnel and method statement required to execute the project, insisting that the road was in better condition before it was handed over to the company.

“I am very, very disappointed with this concessionaire. I offer apologies. I take full responsibility for the misdeed and for the destruction of public asset,” Umahi said.

He said the Ministry of Works had repeatedly warned against the removal of asphalt from federal roads without approval, but alleged that the concessionaire ignored the directives.

Umahi subsequently directed ministry controllers to arrest any contractor or concessionaire found removing asphalt from federal roads without authorisation.

“This road was not like this before we handed it over to you. It was not like this!” the minister fumed during the inspection.

He accused the concessionaire of subjecting road users to severe hardship through poor management of the project, describing the situation as unacceptable and inexcusable.

“You have no method statement, you have no technical competence, you have no technical staff! And now you have brought untold hardship!” Umahi declared.

The minister said the Federal Government would prioritise the welfare of road users over contractual complications, stressing that public interest remained paramount.

According to Umahi, President Bola Tinubu was concerned about the suffering of commuters and had directed the Ministry of Works to take immediate measures to restore the highway.

He said competent contractors would be engaged to carry out immediate restoration works while the government continued discussions with the concessionaire on the broader issues surrounding the project.

“You must not provoke the people. This is provocation that is at its highest level, where people cannot pass through the road because of greed, because of lack of competence, because of manipulation,” he said.

Umahi added that the concessionaire, contractors, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and the independent engineer would meet with the Edo State Government to determine the way forward.

The minister also disclosed that President Tinubu had directed the redesign of the 401-kilometre Lokoja-Benin-Effurun road corridor for reconstruction with concrete pavement.

He said the Federal Government would no longer continue to rely on what he described as endless and inadequate palliative repairs on the strategic highway.

“We need to reconstruct this road, not this palliative pandemonium that is going on,” Umahi said, stressing that the volume of traffic on the corridor required a permanent solution.

NDDC Moves on Benin-Sapele Road

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Samuel Ogbuku, disclosed that the commission had begun moves to intervene in the deteriorating condition of the Benin-Sapele Road.

Ogbuku said the NDDC had received complaints about the hardship faced by motorists and had scoped 15.4 kilometres of the worst section between Benin, Ologbo Junction and Sapele.

He described portions of the road as severely damaged and, in some areas, virtually unmotorable.

According to him, the NDDC and the Ministry of Works had agreed to collaborate on the intervention to ensure that any remedial work conforms to the original design of the road and is durable.

Ogbuku explained that the intervention became necessary after the funding arrangement for the project through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited was disrupted.

Governor Monday Okpebholo, who accompanied Umahi during the inspection, said the strategic location of Edo State made the condition of the highway a matter of national concern.

Okpebholo described Edo as a gateway linking the South-South, South-East, South-West and northern parts of the country, stressing that the poor condition of major roads in the state has implications beyond Edo.

The development comes after former Edo State governor and Senator Adams Oshiomhole criticised the Federal Government over the state of federal roads in Edo, questioning the rationale behind embarking on new road projects while existing highways were being allowed to deteriorate.

The renewed attention on the Benin-Agbor-Asaba and Benin-Sapele corridors has therefore heightened calls for urgent and lasting intervention rather than continued reliance on temporary repairs.