BY FRONTLINE REPORTERS

Umahi says concessionaire has failed to add value 16 months after work commenced

The Federal Government has appealed to the concessionaire handling the reconstruction of the 125-kilometre Benin-Asaba Highway to give written approval for the Federal Ministry of Works to bring in competent contractors to execute the long-delayed project.

Minister of Works, David Umahi, made the appeal on Wednesday at a stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Edo State Government at the Government House, Benin City, to address the persistent gridlock, deteriorating road conditions and mounting complaints from motorists.

Umahi said the concessionaire had failed to demonstrate the capacity to deliver the project, 16 months after work commenced, and urged it to allow the ministry to take measures necessary to restore the highway to acceptable standards.

“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 immediately easing the hardship being suffered by motorists and commuters along the highway.

He directed BAECC, the concessionaire, to urgently clear all obstructions on the road to restore the free flow of traffic and ordered that severely affected sections be reconstructed under the supervision of the Independent Engineer.

Umahi further directed the concessionaire to restore all asphalt previously removed, redirect water currently being channelled onto the carriageway and submit a technical design for proper stormwater canalisation.

He said the Federal Ministry of Works would also write to the Independent Engineer to measure and assess the work so far executed, 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.

The minister warned that the government’s patience was being stretched by the worsening condition of the road and the potential consequences for public safety and order.

“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 said.

Responding, the Head of Legal and Compliance of BAECC, Peterson Fabian, appealed to the government and other stakeholders to allow more time for further consultations, stressing the need for a collaborative resolution.

“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.

He added: “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 deep disappointment over the state 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.

The governor questioned the capacity of the concessionaire to deliver the project, urging the Minister of Works to take decisive action.

“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,” he said.

Also speaking, Senator Allwell Onyesoh of the Senate Committee on Works condemned the concession arrangement, saying the plight of motorists had become unbearable.

Onyesoh said commuters had described the condition of the highway as “terrible”, adding that the situation had exposed serious shortcomings in the concession model adopted for the project.

“The concessionaires and whoever pushed for this concessionaire did not mean well for Nigeria, and this is a big lesson about concessionaires in Nigeria,” he said.