..FG engaging concessionaire, lists ongoing South-East projects
By John Alechenu
ABUJA — The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, has dismissed claims that the Federal Government has neglected the Benin–Onitsha Road, explaining that the 125-kilometre Benin–Asaba section is under a 25-year concession and cannot be arbitrarily terminated.
Umahi, in a statement signed by the Director of Information and Public Relations in the ministry, Mohammed A. Ahmed, said criticism of the condition of the road should take into account the contractual obligations surrounding the project.
The minister was reacting to an article titled, “The Benin–Onitsha Road: A Monument to Neglect and the Insensitivity of Power.”
He said legitimate concerns about the state of the road should not be distorted into a narrative that ignored the history of the project, contractual obligations and ongoing Federal Government interventions across the South-East.
“How many times has he acknowledged the enormous number of Federal road projects being executed across the South-East under the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Renaissance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu?
“Was the Benin–Onitsha Road in its present condition only after President Tinubu assumed office?
“Must every road in Nigeria be fixed within three years of a new administration assuming office,
regardless of inherited contracts, concession agreements, funding constraints and procurement laws?” he queried.
According to Umahi, the Tinubu administration inherited 2,064 Federal road and bridge projects in various states of disrepair.
“To present the present condition of the Benin–Onitsha Road as though it was created by the Tinubu administration is intellectually dishonest,” he said.
The minister explained that the Benin–Asaba section was awarded under the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI) as a Value-Added Concession by the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
He said under the concession model, the road pavement and the entire Right-of-Way were concessioned for development and management by the concessionaire.
“Government is bound by law. It is bound by contract. And it must observe due process,” Umahi said.
He warned that arbitrary termination of the concession could expose the Federal Government to litigation and “humongous claims.”
The minister, however, said the government had not abandoned responsibility for the road, stressing that the Ministry of Works had been engaging the concessionaire over the pace of work and demanding improved performance.
“The Ministry has been engaging the Concessionaire over the pace of work and demanding better performance. The fact that the road is concessioned does not mean the Federal Government has abandoned responsibility,” he said.
Umahi added that the Federal Government began reviewing inherited highway concession agreements in 2025 to address issues relating to transparency and performance.
The minister also highlighted several Federal Government road projects ongoing in the South-East, including the Enugu–Onitsha Expressway, where a 15-kilometre concrete-paved section was reopened in April 2026.
Other projects listed by the minister include the Enugu–Abakaliki–Ogoja Road, Afikpo–Okigwe Road dualisation, Onueke Flyover, Calabar–Ebonyi–Benue Superhighway, access roads to the Second Niger Bridge, Aba–Owerri Road, Onitsha–Owerri Expressway, Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway and Aba–Ikot Ekpene Road.
The post Benin-Onitsha Road concessioned, not neglected, says Umahi appeared first on Vanguard News.