Following public outcry over the state of the Benin-Agbor-Asaba road where travellers are stranded for days, President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday ordered for redesign and total reconstruction of the road and other major federal highways across Edo State and adjoining corridors to ease the suffering of travellers, and reduce hardships on these roads.
As part of moves towards this, Minister of Works, David Umahi, inspected the troubled Benin-Agbor-Asaba road in Edo State, while the Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, visited the Ifaki-Oye-Kabba and Efon-Iwaraja roads in Ekiti State, where motorists and residents have endured prolonged delays and hardship.
Umahi apologised to commuters and took responsibility for the condition of the Benin-Asaba road, while condemning the concessionaire handling its reconstruction. He ordered steps towards the total reconstruction of the highway, stressing that palliative works would not be sufficient to resolve the problem.
Umahi condemned the Benin-Asaba Expressway Concessions Company over what he described as the poor handling of the Benin-Asaba highway.
The expressway was concessioned to BAECC in 2025 for reconstruction and expansion from four to 10 lanes.
The company had, in October last year, said it would complete the 10-lane highway within the stipulated timeframe.
However, Umahi said the concessionaire ought to have been arrested for destroying public property, accusing the company of manipulating the process to secure the contract.
He said, “I apologise to commuters plying this road. The NDDC is willing to intervene. I am disappointed with the concessionaire. I take full responsibility for their misdeed and destruction of public assets.
“The Ministry of Works does not allow removal of asphalt. We begged them not to remove it. The concessionaire should have been arrested for destroying public property. This road was not like this when it was handed over. I am instructing the ministry to arrest any concessionaire that removes asphalt from existing roads.”
Addressing the Chief Executive Officer of BAECC, Samuel Daramola, Umahi accused the company of manipulating the process to secure the contract and questioned its technical capacity to handle the project.
He said, “You manipulated the process to get the job. You have no knowledge of road construction. You don’t know what you are doing. You have no technical staff or competence.
“The President has directed us to do whatever is possible to fix this road. The law is there and there is overriding public interest. It is also the fault of the government for not finding out the competency of concessionaires. You are learning how to do construction on our road. This is dangerous.
“This is provocation at its highest level. It is a pity when people cannot pass the road. We have competent contractors who we will beg to restore the road. We will be asking CCETC to fix the bad spot in Asaba.
“I am disappointed. The President has directed me to redesign all roads from Kogi to Warri and around Edo State. They are to be done with concrete pavement. We need total reconstruction of this road and not this palliative.”
On his part, the BAECC CEO blamed heavy rainfall and heavy vehicular traffic on the highway for the slow pace of work.
He said the volume of traffic had made it difficult for the company to construct side drains while keeping the road open to motorists.
He said, “We expanded the road to eight lanes. We did palliative work for some months. We are wrestling with weather as much as we want to keep to the scope of work. We expected our palliative work to have been completed long ago.
“We have to choose between doing side drains and combating heavy traffic. We are compelled to open the road when it was not ready. We have to do the work over again. This is a concession road and we are funding this road with our money.
“How do we start with drains when there is heavy traffic? We have tried to engage all parties and communities. We are determined to ensure we complete this road. We have a reputation to maintain.”
The representative of the project consultant, Toyin Akinlapa, said BAECC failed to heed instructions to execute the project according to specifications.
He said, “The concessionaire did not heed our instruction. We told them to first do the drains but they ignored us and that affected the road. The company had some challenges in their technical team.”
The Chairman, House Committee on Works, Akin Alabi, who was part of the inspection team, urged President Bola Tinubu to review the agreement with the concessionaire.
He said, “We should review all such contracts. We cannot afford concessionaires who will give us issues. The people want to see good roads. There must be palliative measures. Let us come up with a solution where people can move.”
(Ripples)