FG to engage stakeholders on Benin-Asaba Road condition

The Federal Government is to hold a robust engagement with the concessionaire and other stakeholders over the deplorable condition of the Benin-Asaba Road.

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists during an inspection of the Carter Bridge in Lagos.

Umahi said he would on Tuesday lead the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Works to inspect the Benin-Asaba Road and seek ways to address challenges affecting the project.

He said: “Tomorrow (Tuesday), we are off to Benin-Asaba Road.

“The problem is not caused by the Federal Ministry of Works. 

“It is caused by our attempt to involve the private sector in those developments as it is done in other places.

“This concessionaire came and removed over 30km of the asphalt and threw it away, closed the yard and left, and today people are suffering.”

Umahi said his team would engage an independent engineer, the ministry’s legal representatives, and the concessionaire on the way forward.

He added that the stakeholders’ engagement would involve the Governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo.

The minister said the Federal Government was concerned about the hardship being experienced by motorists and other road users as a result of the condition of the road.

He said the government was also taking steps to address challenges on other critical roads across the country.

Umahi said the Minister of State for Works would inspect the Ifaki-Ado-Ekiti and Kogi-Ekiti roads in an effort to address its condition.

He said President Bola Tinubu had in 2024 drawn his attention to the deplorable condition of the road and directed that it should be addressed.

“We have redesigned it and we will bring up a result, which we will show to the President,” he said.

Umahi said the Federal Government was committed to addressing challenges facing critical infrastructure across the country.

He commended Tinubu for commitment to road development, saying that virtually every state had ongoing road construction projects.

The minister urged Nigerians to appreciate the Federal Government’s investment in road infrastructure.

 He said: “There is no region that will say we are shortchanged. 

“There is nothing like that.”