The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has declared that no existing federal road can last up to seven years.
He expressed that the verdict had been shaped by the information gathered during his recent cross-country road inspection journey. He emphasized the widespread issue of potholes and the alarming degradation of certain roads, likening them to “boreholes.”
At the ministry headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, the minister conveyed his frustration with the inadequate work performed by contractors over the years when speaking to contractors representing all six geo-political zones.
He directed the contractors to redesign their projects to concrete projects rather than asphalt. He vowed not to pay any contractor who does not do that.
The ex-governor of Ebonyi State also raised concerns about contractors carrying out unauthorized extra work and urged them to acquire proper authorization.
He stressed the significance of meticulous documentation and clearance processes, firmly stating that contracts would only be approved with the required design plans and original road blueprints.
He said,
- “There is no project being constructed right now in Nigeria that is going to last for seven years. The question is are we going to be maintaining or reconstructing our roads every 10 years? That is what we have been doing. I travelled from Abuja to Benin City through Lokoja, all the stretches of the road are on contract, and ongoing, this is through the policy of the last administration but how much of the roads are motorable? I travelled through the roads myself and I shed tears for the kind of pain our people are going through.
- “I spent 14 hours on the road having started my journey at 10 am and got to Benin City at 2 pm the next day and I was very happy I experienced the pains. President Tinubu said I must travel through all the projects so that I could brief him on my experience and tell him the truth.
- “Unless Mr. President does something about our procurement, his lofty intention to help this country may not be achieved. documents will be sent to the Bureau of Public Procurement for a no-objection certificate, and it will stay for six months. How will the contractors do the additional job you directed them to do without backup authorization.”
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The minister, while admonishing ministry workers for their lack of oversight on road projects, also condemned the entirety of Nigeria’s construction industry.
He claimed that the subpar state of the roads resulted from insufficient professionalism and obsolete construction techniques.
Additionally, he instructed all contractors to shift their projects towards concrete technology instead of asphalt and firmly promised to withhold payments from any contractor failing to comply with this directive.
Rejecting allegations of an impending N9,000 cement price due to concrete road projects, the minister asserts that this narrative is part of a larger conspiracy orchestrated by influential figures within the construction sector to discredit him.
He said,
- “This is my line of instructions, and I will do whatever the president instructs me to do he is the only one and God that can cancel my instructions so don’t waste your time reporting me to anyone apart from these two. No matter the amount of blackmail and lies, it will not prevail, the minister reassured.”
Why would they? when 80% of Umahi roads in Ebonyi are a shamble.