The Presidency has described the recent failure of the Benin-Agbor-Asaba Expressway as an isolated incident, saying the Federal Government responded swiftly by deploying key stakeholders to the affected section and demanding immediate action from the contractor handling the project.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, made this known on Channels Television on Wednesday while reacting to the deteriorating condition of the highway and the President’s directive for its redesign and total reconstruction.
Dare said the condition of the road should not be used to judge the performance of federal road projects across the country, noting that several other highways had either been completed or were progressing without similar complaints.
“I think that first, these are isolated cases. And we all know by the nature of road construction, during rainy season, you encounter problems like this,” Dare said.
He explained that while the government was responsible for identifying roads in need of rehabilitation and providing funding, contractors were expected to execute the projects according to the required standards.
“Whatever played out yesterday, we had all the stakeholders there. And it’s important that even the contractor came out, even though he gave excuses, it showed a failure on their part,” he added.
Dare’s comments came a day after the Minister of Works, David Umahi, inspected the troubled Benin-Agbor-Asaba road in Edo State and apologised to motorists and commuters affected by the poor condition of the highway.
Umahi had taken responsibility for the state of the road and condemned the concessionaire handling its reconstruction, while directing moves towards its total reconstruction after concluding that palliative repairs would not provide a lasting solution.
According to Dare, the swift intervention by the Works Ministry, members of the National Assembly and other stakeholders demonstrated the government’s willingness to respond to infrastructure challenges.
“Government has a responsibility to identify the roads that need to be fixed. Government has a responsibility to provide the funding. And then, the next responsibility goes to the contractors to do what is necessary,” he said.
“What we saw yesterday, the Minister, the National Assembly members, and other key stakeholders going there in record time, right on the spot. And I think that’s what good governance is about, responding as quickly and as swiftly as possible, putting the blame where it is, and requesting for immediate action.”
The presidential aide maintained that the Benin-Asaba road crisis did not represent the state of all federal road projects, stressing that several highways across the country had been rehabilitated without similar complaints.
“I said these are isolated, but we have quite a number of other roads where there are no complaints, where the roads have been fixed,” Dare said.
He also defended the pace of ongoing road construction nationwide, saying motorists would inevitably experience some inconvenience while major infrastructure projects were being executed.
Dare said he recently travelled along the Abuja-Lokoja corridor with about 65 journalists and observed completed sections of the road, as well as areas where concrete construction was ongoing.
He described infrastructure development as a gradual process, arguing that road projects were often executed in phases before being fully completed.
“It’s like a house construction; a house is not built in a day, it’s progressive. Until the roof comes on, the rain will still pour down on the building,” he said.
Dare further disclosed that the Federal Government was currently undertaking several major road projects nationwide, including five legacy roads and approximately 320 other roads across the country.
He said the scale of the projects reflected President Tinubu’s emphasis on infrastructure development and credited the Ministry of Works with driving the administration’s road construction programme.
“Is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on top of what’s happening? Absolutely. We’re talking about five legacy roads; we’re talking about 320 roads across the length and breadth of our country,” Dare said.
The Benin-Agbor-Asaba corridor has attracted renewed attention following complaints over its worsening condition, with motorists and commuters reporting prolonged travel times, vehicle damage and increased transportation costs.
The Federal Government’s decision to consider the total reconstruction of the highway is expected to bring renewed focus to the quality, supervision and delivery of major road projects across the country.