By Ovat Abeng
AKWA (CONVERSEER) – The Honourable Minister of Works, Engr Dave Umahi, has expressed confidence that all the roads that will be constructed and reconstructed under President Bola Tinubu’s administration are expected to last for 100 years.
Umahi expressed confidence on Saturday in Awka, the Anambra State capital, while speaking to journalists shortly after inspecting the ongoing 107 kilometres dual-carriageway road project at the Amasea axis of the Enugu-Awka-Onitsha highway.
He said that all the federal roads across the country will be converted into concrete to achieve the above mentioned target.
He attributed the renewed project on the highway to President Tinubu’s resolve to address long-neglected infrastructure in the South East region of the country.
Umahi described the Enugu-Awka-Onitsha road as a decade-long nightmare, noting that successive administrations failed to undertake meaningful rehabilitation.
“The Enugu-Awka-Onitsha Road has been a nightmare for decades. Previous governments, up to eight of them, never worked on this road. What we are seeing today is due to the audacity, determination, and love President Tinubu has for Ndigbo.
“All the nightmares on that road will come to an end under President Tinubu. The Southeast should be grateful because what we have long expected has come to pass.
“I am assuring Nigerians that all the roads that will be constructed and reconstructed under President Tinubu’s administration will last for good 100 years,” he stated.
The minister explained that the 107-kilometre project is awarded to MTN Nigeria under the tax credit scheme for N202 billion, with about N50 billion worth of work completed before the current administration assumed office.
“MTN, in collaboration with subcontractors Niger Cat and RCC, is presently executing the revised scope of work, which is expected to be completed and officially commissioned by the end of May, 2026
“I am satisfied with what they have done so far. Where we have objections, we have pointed them out, and they have agreed to make corrections,” the minister stated.
He disclosed that May’s end has been set as the target completion date for the ongoing phase, adding that the remaining works cover about 72 kilometres spread across four sections.
According to him, two of the most critical sections — measuring 15 kilometres and 18 kilometres — are being constructed with reinforced concrete.
While commending the quality and pace of reconstruction work carried out by MTN Nigeria and its contractors, Ronalds Construction Company (RCC) and Niger Cat, are doing at the Enugu-Awka-Onitsha expressway, the Minister urged the Igbos to appreciate the president with 100 per cent votes during the 2027 Presidential election.
In their separate contributions, the Federal Controller of Works in Anambra, Engr Augustine Emeka Opara and his Enugu counterpart, Engr Ndem Smart, promised to work day and night to ensure completion of the project by May.
The Minister was accompanied by the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Community Engagement (South East) and the MTN Nigeria project manager, Engr Tochukwu Onourah, among other entourages.
