Okpebholo hinges slow pace of road rehabilitation on persistent rainfall

Minister of Works, David Umahi, yesterday, slammed the contractor handling the Benin-Asaba Expressway, noting that the firm lacks the technical know-how to embark on road construction.

Recall that the Benin-Asaba highway was concessioned to BAECC in 2025 to turn the road into a 10-lane highway. The firm had, in October last year, said it would complete construction of the 10-lane highway within the set time.

Umahi, who spoke in Benin when he paid an on-the-spot assessment of the road after the public outcry, was particularly angry that the firm removed existing asphalt on the road and did not construct side drains before embarking on road construction.

Motorists were trapped on the highway for several days due to several failed sections of the road. But Umahi said the Concessionaire would have been arrested for destroying public property, just as he accused the Concessionaire of manipulating the process to get the job.

He said: “I commend Governor Monday Okpebholo for his intervention in lots of federal roads across the state. He is not saying this is a federal or state road. I apologise to commuters plying this road. The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is willing to intervene. I am disappointed with the Concessionaire. I take full responsibility for their misdeed and destruction of public assets.

“The Ministry of Works does not allow removal of asphalt. We begged them not to remove it. The Concessionaire should have been arrested for destroying public property. This road was not like this when it was handed over. I am instructing the ministry to arrest any Concessionaire that removes asphalt from existing roads.”

Addressing the Chief Executive Officer of BAECC, Samuel Daramola, Umahi said: “You manipulated the process to get the job. You do not know road construction. You don’t know what you are doing. You have no technical staff or competence. The President has directed us to do whatever is possible to fix this road.

On his part, the BAECC CEO blamed heavy rains for the slow pace of work. He said heavy vehicular traffic on the highway made the firm not construct side drains.

He added: “We expanded the road. We have expanded to eight lanes. We did palliative work for some months. We are wrestling with the weather as much as we want to keep to the scope of work. We expected our palliative work to have been completed long ago. We have to choose between doing side drains and combating heavy traffic. We are compelled to open the road when it is yet to cure. We have to do the work all over again. This is a concession road, and we are funding this road with our money.”

MEANWHILE, the Edo State Government has attributed the slow pace of rehabilitation and reconstruction of major roads linking the state with neighbouring states to persistent rainfall, assuring motorists and residents that all major entry and exit routes have been awarded for construction.

The government said the development was not a reflection of abandonment of the projects, but a temporary setback caused by the prolonged rains, which had made it difficult for contractors to effectively execute road construction works.

In a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, the state government stated that the administration of Monday Okpebholo remained committed to rebuilding critical infrastructure and delivering the dividends of democracy to the people.

Afegbua said the Benin-Ore road, which is currently undergoing repairs, had been affected by heavy rainfall, forcing contractors to temporarily suspend some aspects of the work until weather conditions become favourable.

He said the Benin-Agbor road was also undergoing major reconstruction under a concession arrangement, with the project expected to produce a 10-lane highway capable of improving traffic flow and strengthening the connection between Edo and other parts of the country.