The Federal Government has directed contractors handling legacy road projects across the country not to block vehicular access on any road for more than 14 days under any circumstance.

The government also warned that contractors do not have the liberty to handle projects arbitrarily, as it issued a 72-hour ultimatum to GELD Construction Company to effectively utilise funds already released and demonstrate visible progress on the Abuja-Lokoja Expressway.

Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, gave the directive during an inspection tour of ongoing road and bridge projects in Kogi and Edo states. He also criticised officials of the Ministry of Works for allegedly failing to properly supervise projects assigned to them, accusing some of pampering contractors and issuing certificates arbitrarily while the public blames President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ministry for poor performance.

Umahi expressed dissatisfaction that some ministry staff could not adequately defend projects under their supervision before the National Assembly, warning that any official found exhibiting incompetence or negligence would be removed.

The minister also frowned at the slow pace of work on sections of the Abuja-Lokoja dual carriageway and the dualisation of the Obajana Junction-Benin Road. He urged contractors not to wait unnecessarily for government releases before continuing work and called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to pay contractors handling projects funded by the company.

According to him, due to funding constraints, the scope of one section of the Abuja-Lokoja road project had to be reduced from 49.28 kilometres to 28 kilometres to enable the government concentrate available resources on the most critical sections.

“I am very sad with what I saw on the ground. What was reported to us is not reflected in the actual work being done,” Umahi stated.

The minister, however, commended Messrs JRB Construction Company for the quality and pace of work on its project, describing the firm as a model of professionalism and commitment.
“If everybody does his job accordingly, there will be no reason to shift the blame to Mr President,” he added.

Umahi noted that a substantial percentage of Nigeria’s federal road network was in terrible condition before the Tinubu administration came on board, adding that efforts are ongoing to fix the decay.

During the tour, the minister visited the reconstruction of the existing pavement and completion of the additional carriageway on Section III of the Abuja-Lokoja Dual Carriageway, including works being executed by Trucrete Solutions Limited on the Koton Karfe-Abuja alignment.

He also inspected two critical bridge projects along the same corridor, as well as the ongoing dualisation of the Lokoja-Benin Road. The projects inspected include Section I, Obajana Junction-Okene, and Section II covering the Okene-Auchi corridor across Kogi and Edo states.

Umahi further assessed progress on the flyover and interchange components of the project being handled by CCG Contractors, with the flyovers reportedly at about 80 per cent completion and the interchange at approximately 30 per cent.