Minister fumes over abandoned project, orders removal of road blockages
Minister of Works, David Umahi, has ordered the concessionaire handling the Benin-Asaba Road project to quit the site, accusing the company of failing to add value to the major highway.
Umahi gave the directive on Wednesday during a stakeholders’ meeting at the Edo State Government House in Benin, where he expressed concern over the worsening condition of the road and the hardship being faced by motorists.
The minister urged the Benin Asaba Expressway Concession Company (BAECC) to formally write the Federal Government through the Ministry of Works to facilitate the termination of its contract.
“We are therefore pleading with you to give us written approval to proceed in this manner. We believe this is the way forward.
“Therefore, our directive going forward is that you should be removed from the site of this project, within the limits of our rights. You have added no value to the project,” Umahi said.
He also ordered the concessionaire to immediately clear all blockages on the road to restore the free flow of traffic.
Umahi directed the Federal Ministry of Works to ask the independent engineer handling the project to measure all work executed on the road, excluding what he described as “negative work.”
According to him, the removal of asphalt contrary to contractual specifications would not be recognised as work done.
“When you remove asphalt contrary to the contract and contrary to the specifications, that is negative work. It will not be recognised as part of the value of work done. In fact, the cost of rectifying the damage must also be established,” he said.
The minister said the government was not convinced that the concessionaire currently had the technical capacity to restore the damaged portions of the road.
He warned that continued poor handling of the project could trigger public disorder as motorists and residents endure worsening conditions.
Umahi directed that the affected sections be reconstructed under the supervision of the independent engineer.
He also ordered the concessionaire to produce a technical design for proper stormwater canalisation, stressing that water must be prevented from flowing onto the carriageway.
The minister further directed that all damaged asphalt be restored and measures taken to ensure free movement of traffic along the highway.
Reacting, the Head of Legal and Compliance of BAECC, Peterson Fabian, appealed to the government and other stakeholders to allow the company more time to explore possible solutions.
He said the discussions were not yet conclusive and called for further engagement among all parties.
Meanwhile, Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, expressed disappointment over the condition of the road, describing the situation as unacceptable.
Okpebholo said motorists, particularly Edo residents, had suffered immensely because of the poor state of the highway.
“Looking at the project at hand, looking at the road itself, looking at the suffering of the people and looking at how that road was before now, I felt sorry for those plying the road, especially Edo people,” he said.
The governor said the situation represented a waste of resources, insisting that something was fundamentally wrong with the execution of the project.
“If they are competent, by now we should have seen some part of this road completed. You don’t need to tell a layman that something is wrong on that road,” he added.
Okpebholo urged Umahi to take decisive action, stressing that the Benin-Asaba Road is a major highway with national importance.
Senator Allwell Onyesoh, a member of the Senate Committee on Works, also described the condition of the road as terrible, saying the development had exposed the need for greater scrutiny of concession arrangements for major infrastructure projects.
