The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, on Thursday, asked Nigerians to hold him accountable for any poorly constructed and executed road in any part of the country under the current administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Umahi revealed that the Tinubu administration inherited over 2,000 uncompleted road projects across the country, amounting to Trillions of Naira.
The Minister spoke during the Federal Ministry of Works’ Town Hall meeting and stakeholder engagement on the alignment of the 63km segment of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway in Ondo State.
According to Umahi, “One of the things we saw when we came on board was that Tinubu inherited 2,604 projects as of May 29, 2023, running to N13 trillion and contractors were being owed N1.6 trillion for jobs done.
“Some of these projects are over 20 years, five years, 13 years, and 17 years old. But the President believes that these projects should be fixed in 14 months, and if it is not fixed, I will take responsibility.”
While lamenting that there had been little or no monitoring of projects in the past by either directors or controllers of works, resulting in shoddy work done nationwide, the Minister underscored the need for transparency in the award and variation of contracts across the country.
He further disclosed that he would not sign any final certificate unless full explanations were provided, adding that contractors should no longer wait for mobilisation fees.
He said, “I take responsibility for every failure, any bad road, any road that is ongoing and not being constructed. But be assured that we are not sleeping.
“We have terminated over 10 contracts of big companies and we have the mind to terminate more, and you can’t dictate for us; we will tell you what we want. Our books are very much open. We will conclude the design (for Ondo State) within the month of November, and we will inaugurate it.
“We have directed that all federal road controllers should give us details of roads within their domains, whether awarded or not, so that by this Christmas, all federal highways will be motorable.”
Umahi, who noted that the coastal highway would pass through seven states and open up new businesses, assured that the design for the section of the road in Ondo State would be completed in November.
The Works Minister further disclosed the Federal Government’s commitment to dredging the ocean in Ayetoro area of the State as part of a medium-term solution to the perennial flooding threatening the town’s existence.
He said the sea incursion would be tackled, adding, “We are coming back after your election to start the Aiyetoro project, which will get started after this one.
“Nigerians should be grateful that we have a listening president. He is committed to all sectors. This country still has a lot of potential.”
Earlier, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Works, Mr Akin Alabi, commended President Tinubu for the initiative and the Minister for working hard to achieve the desired results for Nigerian roads.
“We in the House of Representatives are fully behind the President and Works Minister. Our aim is that, at the end of the day, we want Nigeria to work. We have to say bye-bye to the practice of contractors collecting money and not working.
“If contractors are not on site, don’t pay them; that’s one of the biggest scams in the ministry,” the lawmaker stated.
