Umahi Orders Emergency Repairs on Benin-Asaba Road, Directs Concrete Reconstruction

 

By Pan Afric Reporters

 

The Federal Government has ordered immediate emergency intervention on the troubled Benin–Asaba Federal Road, with major contractors directed to mobilise to all three sections of the corridor to restore failed portions and ease the hardship faced by motorists and commuters.

 

The directive was contained in a statement issued by Francis Nwaze, FIPMD, Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of Works on Media, on September 8, 2026, following the Minister’s recent inspection of the Benin–Asaba corridor and his decision to prioritise public interest over existing constraints associated with the road’s concession agreement.

 

Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Nweze Umahi, CON, said the deteriorating condition of the concessioned road had reached a point where urgent government action was necessary to protect road users and restore normal movement along the strategic corridor.

 

According to the statement, Umahi had visited the road about a week earlier, assembled contractors and directed them to prepare for immediate palliative intervention on the affected sections at no cost to the concessionaire.

 

However, the intervention was reportedly constrained by the concession agreement, which requires the Federal Government to obtain the concessionaire’s permission before intervening on the road. The statement said such permission was not granted.

 

Umahi subsequently presented three options to the concessionaire, any of which, according to the Ministry, would have enabled the Federal Government to address the worsening condition of the road. None of the options was accepted.

 

The Ministry further stated that shortly after the Minister left Asaba, the already limited equipment deployed by the concessionaire to the road was reduced to just one, worsening the situation for motorists and other road users.

 

In response, Umahi has now directed the immediate deployment of major contractors to all three sections of the Benin–Asaba Road, with the Federal Government to bear the cost of the emergency intervention.

 

The Minister has also ordered the immediate redesign of the entire route for reconstruction with reinforced concrete pavement, which the Ministry said would provide a more durable and long-term solution to the recurring deterioration of the road.

The Ministry said the Federal Government was also intervening on several other critical road corridors across the country.

 

On the Benin–Sapele Road, the statement said the governments of Edo and Delta States, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Federal Government were undertaking interventions on different sections, with palliative and permanent works ongoing.

 

For the Ifaki–Kabba Road linking Ekiti and Kogi States, the Federal Government is engaging Gamji Nigeria Company Limited and Dangote PLC on immediate emergency and permanent interventions on the most severely failed sections, while efforts are being made to mobilise the contractor financially for more extensive permanent works.

 

On the Sokoto–Zamfara–Katsina Road, the Ministry said the inherited dualisation project, covering approximately 350 kilometres, had been redesigned, with several sections being reconstructed with reinforced concrete pavement.

 

It disclosed that more than 50 kilometres of one carriageway from the Sokoto axis towards Zamfara had been completed with reinforced concrete pavement, while some sections between Zamfara and Katsina had also been completed. Palliative works have equally been ordered on sections awaiting reconstruction.

 

Contractors including CBC, SETRACO, Triacta and Mothercat are being remobilised to return to site and complete outstanding works, according to the statement.

 

On the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano Road, the Federal Government said it had completed the 118-kilometre Lot 1, mostly with reinforced concrete pavement, while Lot 2, covering 164 kilometres, was over 60 per cent completed.

 

The Ministry also disclosed that solar-powered lighting had been introduced along the entire Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano corridor to improve night-time visibility and enhance security, with the entire project scheduled for completion by December 2026.

 

On the Bauchi–Jigawa Road, Triacta Nigeria Limited has been mobilised to intervene in failed sections, with work already ongoing.

 

Similarly, the Ministry said 48 kilometres of the 96-kilometre Sagamu–Ore Road had been completed with reinforced concrete pavement, while the abandoned 24-kilometre section around Ore had been slated for immediate restoration.

 

Solar lighting is also being installed along the 96-kilometre corridor.

 

The statement added that flooded portions of the Sagamu–Ore–Benin Road, as well as other flood-affected sections in Ondo State, were being designed for emergency procurement and intervention.

 

On the East–West Road, some failed and critical sections, including defective bridge portions, are being prepared for emergency procurement and intervention, while several contracts remain ongoing on the Abuja–Lokoja Road.

 

The Ministry further disclosed that three critical sections of the Abuja–Lokoja corridor without existing contracts were being procured for emergency intervention.

 

For the Lokoja–Benin–Warri Road, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the complete redesign and procurement of the 400-kilometre dualised route covering the uncompleted sections, with reinforced concrete pavement, while palliative works continue on sections being handled by existing contractors.

 

On the Lagos bridges, the Ministry said the Federal Government was continuing weekly maintenance of the underwater components of Carter Bridge, while the site had been handed over to CCECC for construction of a permanent replacement bridge.

 

Work has commenced on the new bridge, while the government is at the final stage of determining the appropriate intervention for defective underwater structural elements of the Third Mainland Bridge.

 

The Ministry also said work had commenced on the flooded section of the Lagos–Ibadan Road, while flood-affected federal roads across the six geopolitical zones were being identified and marked for immediate attention.

 

On the First and Second Niger Bridges, intervention work is ongoing on flood-damaged approach roads to the Second Niger Bridge, while the First Niger Bridge has been closed to traffic to facilitate comprehensive repair and rehabilitation.

 

The contractor has mobilised to site, with massive rehabilitation work also ongoing from Summit Junction to the First Niger Bridge using reinforced concrete pavement.

 

Umahi commended President Tinubu for what he described as massive investments in the nation’s road infrastructure since the administration assumed office in 2023.

 

According to the Minister, the administration inherited a road network in which motorists could hardly travel for an hour in many parts of the country without encountering significant challenges.

 

He said the government had instead chosen to confront the infrastructure deficit by making the rehabilitation and reconstruction of federal roads a priority across the country.

 

The Ministry stated that the Federal Government was currently working on more than 80 per cent of inherited federal roads, describing the scale of intervention as unprecedented in the country’s road infrastructure history.

 

A major component of the administration’s approach, it said, is the increased use of reinforced concrete pavement, which is expected to extend the lifespan of major roads to between 50 and 100 years.

 

The Ministry appealed to Nigerians to understand the scale of the infrastructure challenges inherited by the administration while recognising the permanent solutions being introduced.

 

“We appreciate the concerns of Nigerians over the condition of some roads presently and the difficulties faced by motorists and commuters who cannot move easily from one point to another,” the statement said.

 

“Those concerns are legitimate, and the Federal Government is listening.”

 

The Ministry, however, noted that it would be difficult to resolve within three years all the road challenges accumulated over several years of neglect, stressing that the government was responding through ongoing emergency and permanent interventions.

 

It also appealed to Nigerians to continue sending situation reports on failed roads and infrastructure challenges, while urging members of the public to equally report when such problems had been addressed.

 

The Ministry explained that it had compiled a comprehensive record of inherited, ongoing and intervention projects nationwide, which it said was available to the public to promote transparency and enable Nigerians to track infrastructure development across the country.