The Federal Government has appealed to the concessionaire handling the reconstruction of the Benin-Asaba Highway to allow the Federal Ministry of Works to engage competent contractors to execute the project, citing concerns over the concessionaire’s capacity to deliver.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, made the appeal on Wednesday at a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Benin City, convened to address the persistent gridlock and growing complaints from motorists along the 125-kilometre highway.
Umahi said the concessionaire had failed to add sufficient value to the project, 16 months after construction began.
“We are therefore pleading with you to give us written approval to proceed in this manner. We believe this is the way forward,” the minister said.
The minister also issued a series of directives aimed at easing the hardship faced by motorists and commuters along the highway.
He ordered BAECC to urgently clear all obstructions on the road to restore the free flow of traffic and directed that damaged sections be reconstructed under the supervision of the Independent Engineer.
Umahi further directed the concessionaire to replace all removed asphalt, redirect water being channelled onto the carriageway and submit a technical design for proper stormwater canalisation.
He said the Federal Ministry of Works would write to the Independent Engineer to measure the work completed on the project, excluding what he described as “negative work.”
“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,” Umahi said.
“We have not stopped you from working, but if you continue doing what you are currently doing, we are not convinced that you will be able to avert the potential for public disorder in that place,” he added.
Responding, the Head of Legal and Compliance at BAECC, Peterson Fabian, appealed to all parties to allow more time for further engagement.
“I believe that everything that is being discussed here is not conclusive in itself. We will have a more robust collaborative way of handling things going forward,” Fabian said.
“Every stakeholder here, do allow us to have more time to engage. I believe that we will have more pathways forward to further collaborate.”
Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, expressed disappointment over the condition of the highway, describing the situation as a “total waste of resources.”
“What we are seeing now is not what I should be seeing at this point after 16 months. Nothing has been done,” Okpebholo said.
“You can’t give what you don’t have. If they are competent, by now we should have seen some part of this road completed. Minister, I advise that you do the needful. Edo people are watching.”
Senator Allwell Onyesoh of the Senate Committee on Works also condemned the concession arrangement, saying commuters had described the condition of the highway as “terrible.”
“The concessionaires and whoever pushed for this concessionaire did not mean well for Nigeria, and this is a big lesson about concessionaires in Nigeria,” Onyesoh said.
