LAGOS — As Nigerians lament the poor state of roads across the country, the Federal Government said yesterday it will review all concessioned roads to ensure the terms of contract were met to ease the pains of the people.
The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, who disclosed this when he went on an on-the-spot assessment of the concessioned Benin-Asaba highway, tongue-lashed the concession company, BAECC, over poor handling of the project.
He said the company had failed woefully, lacking the technical knowledge to handle the job, and called for a meeting of all stakeholders to review the situation. He also promised that government will bring a contractor to make the road motorable in the short term.
Motorists have been trapped on the highway for several days due to many failed sections of the road. Passengers travelling from Benin through Agbor to Asaba are facing increasing hardship due to the failed portions of the highway, traffic congestion and diversions which, combined, were prolonging journey times along the corridor.
The Benin-Asaba highway was concessioned to BAECC in 2025 to turn the road into a 10-lane highway, with the project expected to have been completed with toll gates in September 2027 to enable the company recoup its investment and maintain the road for 25 years.
But Umahi said the concessionaire would have been arrested for destroying public property because it removed existing asphalt, contrary to advice, thus subjecting the road to hazards. While commending Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State for his intervention in lots of federal roads across the state, Umahi apologised to commuters plying the road, noting that the NDDC was willing to intervene.
He expressed disappointment with the concessionaire and took full responsibility for what he described as their misdeed and destruction of public assets, stressing that the Ministry of Works does not allow removal of asphalt and that the company had been warned against it.
He said the concessionaire should have been arrested for destroying public property, noting that the road had not been in that state when it was handed over, and instructed the ministry to arrest any concessionaire found removing asphalt on existing roads. He accused the concessionaire of manipulating the process to secure the job.
Concessionaire blames rains
On his part, the BAECC chief executive officer, Mr. Samuel Daramola, blamed heavy rains for the slow pace of work. Daramola, who noted that heavy vehicular traffic on the highway made it impossible for the firm to construct side drains, explained that the company had expanded the road to eight lanes and carried out palliative work for some months, but had been contending with the weather while trying to keep to the scope of work.
He said the palliative work should have been completed much earlier, but the company had to choose between constructing side drains and managing heavy traffic, and was often compelled to open the road before it had properly cured, requiring the work to be redone.
He stressed that the company was funding the road with its own money, questioning how side drains could be started amid heavy traffic, and said the firm had engaged all parties and communities and remained determined to complete the road, given its reputation was at stake.
Rep wants review of concessions
The Chairman, House Committee on Works, Akin Alabi, urged President Bola Tinubu to look at the agreement with the concessionaire, arguing that all such contracts should be reviewed since the country could not afford concessionaires causing such issues, and calling for palliative measures to allow people to move.
Representative of the project consultant, Engr. Toyin Akinlapa, said the concessionaire did not heed the consultant’s instruction to prioritise the drains, adding that the company had faced challenges within its technical team.
We sleep in the bus at night, passenger recounts
A female passenger who spoke to Vanguard at Agbor said they sleep inside the bus at night, adding that they were spending their second night in the gridlock at Agbor since they couldn’t afford hotel accommodation.
The passenger, who was travelling with her two-year-old son to a ceremony in Imo State, said she had been trapped on the road for the second day as it had become impassable to all kinds of vehicles, and called on governments at all levels to come to their rescue.
Lagos to Benin is 4hrs, but drivers spend 3 days on Benin road
A truck driver, who also spoke to Vanguard after spending three days on the road, expressed frustration over the deplorable condition of the road, calling on the federal government to urgently intervene before the festive period. The driver lamented the prolonged journey time, noting that a trip from Lagos to Benin, which ordinarily takes four hours, now stretches into three additional days once drivers reach Benin.
He accused the Federal Government of failing to properly address the conditions of the road, warning that the situation was affecting movement of goods and putting vehicles at risk, explaining that perishable goods would have already spoilt and that vehicles kept breaking down.
A Benin resident said the deteriorating road had negatively affected businesses and economic activities in the area, noting that many businesses had shut down given that the bypass road serves as a route to Abuja, the South-East and Delta.
The worsening condition of the road has also raised concerns among road users ahead of the festive season when traffic and movement of goods are expected to increase significantly. The development comes as the administration of President Tinubu continues to face pressure over the state of major federal highways across the country.
It took me 3 days to deliver cargo from Lagos to Asaba —Driver
A driver handling logistics for a Lagos-based firm said he spent three days transporting raw materials from Lagos to Asaba. He explained that he left the office in Lagos on August 20 and arrived in Asaba on August 23, spending three days on the road, including a full day stuck at the Benin bypass and two days and two nights trapped in Agbor, where even at night the area resembled a busy market as passengers disembarked in search of food and water.
Concessionaire has not done enough— Forum
Speaking on the deplorable state of the road, Chairman of the Ikpoba Hill Youth Forum, Kingsley Osemwingie, said the concessionaire had not done enough, contrary to expectations. He recalled that the community had protested the plight of residents the previous week, and said that if the contractor was not capable, it should be changed. He noted that the road had recently experienced a lockdown due to its poor condition, causing damage to lives and property, and appealed to the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to address the situation before the next rainy season.
Concessionaire has failed—Cleric
A cleric who also spoke on the bad state of the road, Rev Philip Aroje, who has lived in the area for 30 years, said the concessionaire had failed in the road construction. He recalled that when the contractor came on board earlier in the year, residents had felt relief was coming, as they saw the roads opened from Agbor Park to a community called Uguni, along with asphalt plants set up nearby.
He lamented that none of this had translated into a better road, noting that the day of the report was the first time in a while that people had been able to use the route, and appealed for whatever could be done to make the road passable.
S-South roads’ ve been starved—PANDEF Chairman
Reacting to the deplorable state of the roads, the National Chairman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Ambassador Godknows Igali, decried the deteriorating condition of roads across the South-South region, declaring that the oil-rich area had been reduced to a state of crisis despite being the nation’s economic backbone.
Speaking against the backdrop of the horrific state of the Benin-Agbor-Asaba Road, where motorists have been stranded for days amid severe gridlock, Igali said the Federal Government’s continued neglect of the region’s infrastructure was breeding bitterness and alienation among its people.
He described the South-South as the goose that lays the golden egg but has almost been starved, clarifying that he was not asking the President to concentrate solely on one part of the country, but simply demanding fairness and equity for the region given its status as the nation’s revenue base.
He lamented that it had become almost impossible to connect within the South-South, citing bad sections from Benin to Auchi, a nearly impassable route from Auchi to Okene, and poor conditions heading from Benin towards Akure, describing the region as being in an almost crisis situation.
He said the people were not happy, and while they might not say so openly out of respect, many were bitter and sad.
