The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has ordered the immediate deployment of major contractors to all three sections of the Benin-Asaba Federal Road to restore failed portions of the highway and ease the hardship being experienced by motorists and other road users.
According to an official signed statement by the senior special assistant to the honorable minister of works (Media), Francis Nwaze, the directive followed the worsening condition of the concessioned road, which the minister said had reached a point where the overall public interest must take precedence over the existing concession agreement.
Umahi, who inspected the Benin-Asaba Road about a week ago, had assembled contractors and directed them to prepare for immediate palliative intervention on the affected sections at no cost to the concessionaire.
However, the Federal Government could not immediately commence the intervention because the concession agreement requires the consent of the concessionaire before government intervention on the road.
According to the ministry, the minister subsequently proposed three options to the concessionaire, any of which would have allowed the Federal Government to intervene and address the deteriorating condition of the road.
The concessionaire, however, rejected all three options.
The ministry said the situation became worse shortly after Umahi left Asaba, as the limited equipment deployed by the concessionaire was further reduced to just one machine.
The development, it said, further increased the suffering of motorists and other road users along the busy corridor.
The minister, while taking responsibility for the concerns and hardship experienced by Nigerians using the road, also faulted the concessionaire for declining the options proposed by the Federal Government.
He said the concessionaire had continued to rely on the terms of the concession agreement entered into by the previous administration, which, according to him, limits the Federal Government’s ability to intervene quickly when public interest is at stake.
Consequently, Umahi has now directed the immediate deployment of major contractors operating within the corridor to all three sections of the Benin-Asaba Road.
The emergency intervention will be funded by the Federal Government.
The minister has also ordered the immediate redesign of the entire route for reconstruction with reinforced concrete pavement.
The Federal Ministry of Works said the intervention is expected to restore every failed section of the road, after which the entire route will undergo rehabilitation using reinforced concrete pavement.
Other Critical Roads
The ministry also disclosed ongoing and planned interventions on several other critical federal highways across the country.
On the Benin-Sapele Road, the Federal Government, the governors of Edo and Delta states and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) are intervening on different sections of the route. While some portions are receiving palliative attention, permanent works are ongoing on other sections.
On the Ifaki-Ekiti-Kabba Road, the Federal Government is engaging Gamji Nigeria Company Limited and Dangote Plc for immediate emergency and permanent intervention on the most severely failed sections. Efforts are also underway to financially mobilise the contractor for more extensive permanent works.
The ministry said the Sokoto-Zamfara-Katsina Road, an inherited dualisation project covering approximately 350 kilometres, has been redesigned, with several sections being reconstructed with reinforced concrete pavement.
More than 50 kilometres of one carriageway from the Sokoto axis towards Zamfara have been completed with reinforced concrete pavement, while some sections between Zamfara and Katsina have also been completed.
Palliative works have been ordered on sections yet to be reconstructed, while contractors including CBC, SETRACO, Triacta and Mothercat are being remobilised to site following a slowdown caused by the redesign and rephasing of the project.
On the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road, the Federal Government said it has completed the 118-kilometre Lot 1, largely using reinforced concrete pavement.
Lot 2, covering 164 kilometres, is said to be more than 60 per cent completed with reinforced concrete pavement.
The government has also introduced solar-powered lighting along the entire Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano route to improve night visibility and enhance security.
The project is scheduled for completion by December 2026.
On the Bauchi-Jigawa Road, Triacta Nigeria Limited has been mobilised to intervene on failed sections, with work already underway.
The ministry said 48 kilometres of the 96-kilometre Sagamu-Ore Road have been completed with reinforced concrete pavement. A further 24-kilometre section around Ore, which was abandoned by a previous contractor, has been ordered for immediate restoration.
Solar-powered lighting is also being installed along the entire 96-kilometre route.
The ministry said flooded sections along the Sagamu-Ore-Benin corridor, as well as other flooded portions in Ondo State, are being designed for emergency procurement and intervention.
Similarly, failed and critical sections of the East-West Road, including defective portions of bridges, are being marked for emergency procurement and intervention.
On the Abuja-Lokoja Road, several contracts are ongoing, while the three critical sections without existing contracts are being procured for emergency intervention.
The Federal Government has also directed a complete redesign and procurement of the uncompleted sections of the approximately 400-kilometre Lokoja-Benin-Warri Road for dualisation using reinforced concrete pavement. Palliative works will continue on sections currently being handled by contractors.
Bridge Rehabilitation
The ministry also provided updates on major bridge projects.
It said weekly maintenance of the underwater elements of Carter Bridge is continuing, while the site has been handed over to CCECC for the construction of a permanent new bridge. Work has commenced.
On the Third Mainland Bridge, the government is at the final stage of determining the appropriate intervention for defective underwater structural elements.
The ministry also said work has commenced on a flooded section of the Lagos-Ibadan Road, while several other flooded sections of federal roads across the six geopolitical zones are being identified and marked for immediate intervention.
On the First and Second Niger Bridges, intervention works are ongoing on approach roads to the Second Niger Bridge damaged by flooding.
The First Niger Bridge has been closed to traffic to facilitate immediate repair works, with the contractor already mobilised to site for comprehensive rehabilitation.
The ministry said massive rehabilitation is also ongoing from Summit Junction to the First Niger Bridge, with reinforced concrete pavement being used.
It was further disclosed that the Federal Government is currently working on more than 80 per cent of inherited federal road projects, describing the scale of intervention as unprecedented.
According to the ministry, the Tinubu administration inherited a road network in which motorists could hardly travel for an hour in many parts of the country without encountering significant challenges.
It said the administration made the nation’s road infrastructure a priority rather than shying away from the scale of the problem.
The ministry said the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Works, regional commissions, parastatals and other ministries, departments and agencies, had continued to intervene extensively across the country.
A major component of the government’s approach, it said, is the use of reinforced concrete pavement, which is designed to significantly increase the lifespan of major roads.
The ministry said roads constructed with the new approach are expected to last between 50 and 100 years, describing the policy as an effort to provide durable infrastructure for future generations rather than temporary solutions.
It acknowledged the concerns of Nigerians over the current condition of some roads and the difficulties faced by motorists and commuters, but urged the public to recognise the scale of the infrastructure deficit inherited by the administration.
The ministry said it was not possible to resolve every road challenge accumulated over many years within three years, but stressed that the government was responding to the challenges and implementing permanent solutions.
It also urged Nigerians to continue sending reports on failed roads and other infrastructure challenges, saying such reports help the ministry identify areas requiring urgent attention.
However, the ministry appealed to members of the public to also report when identified road problems had been addressed, noting that photographs and reports of some road failures sometimes continue to circulate on social media even after interventions have been completed.
The ministry said it has compiled a comprehensive record of inherited, ongoing and intervention projects across the country and made the information available to the public to promote transparency and enable Nigerians to track ongoing infrastructure projects.
