The Minister for Works, Dave Umahi, has declared that the much-anticipated rehabilitation and palliative work on failed federal roads will kick off on December 1, 2023.
Addressing the nation via his X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, Umahi acknowledged the mounting grievances of commuters and residents over the deteriorating state of federal roads.
The comprehensive plan encompasses major thoroughfares such as the Makurdi-Nsukka 9th Mile Road, East-West Road, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Benin bypass road, collapsed bridges on the Enugu-Port Harcourt road, collapsed bridges on the Shandam-Plateau State route, Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road, and Gombe-Bauchi road, among others.
Umahi vowed to confront road infrastructure challenges head-on, despite the significant debt burden inherited from ongoing projects.
He said,
“The attention of the Federal Ministry of Works has been drawn to the concerns of the public on the deplorable situations of some sections of the Federal roads throughout the Federation as reported in many media platforms, especially social media and newspaper pages.”
The minister outlined a N300 billion funding allocation in the 2023 supplementary budget, dividing it into N100 billion for immediate palliative works on roads nationwide and N200 billion for the completion of ongoing projects.
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“Without prejudice to all the good efforts of the past administration on road infrastructure development which they tackled within the limit of their resources, the work to be done to change the ugly state of our roads is quite enormous.
“Mr. President is not complaining of the challenges he inherited in nearly all sectors of the economy, especially as it concerns our road infrastructure and he has directed that works in those palliative projects must commence before 1st December 2023, while observing all due process.
“On the sections being frequently complained of by the public in all regions of the North and South of the country, Mr. President has equally isolated them and directed immediate actions on them and indeed work has started on all such roads. The public can crosscheck our claims and report back to us,” Umahi added.
In a bid to foster public engagement, Umahi called upon citizens to actively supervise contractors involved in palliative works on road infrastructure. He assured that genuine informants would be publicly acknowledged in periodic forums.
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To facilitate reporting of poorly constructed roads, the minister provided contact numbers, urging individuals to include details such as the contractor’s name, location, type of contract, and observed defects in photographs.
“The public is hereby requested to assist the Federal Ministry of Works and FERMA by supervising the contractors that will be engaged in these palliative works and indeed all ongoing projects. It is the right of every Nigerian to have value for their money deployed to the road infrastructure sector and therefore must show both interest and passion in all the ongoing projects. All poorly constructed roads should be photographed and reported immediately to the following contacts: 08030986263, 08037086137, or 08106423197; showing the name of the contractor, the location and type of contract and defects observed.
“The Federal Ministry of Works will document such reports, verify and take effective action to correct such infractions. The Ministry shall also periodically recognise publicly those who made such reports that are genuine in a public engagement forum to be hosted quarterly and will sanction such erring contractors publicly too.”
Clarifying misconceptions, Umahi emphasized that the federal government has not explicitly banned the use of asphalt in road construction. Instead, he introduced a new policy outlining guidelines for the use of both concrete and asphalt pavements in national road projects.
Contractors for ongoing projects have the flexibility to choose between asphalt and concrete, with no additional cost to the government for project redesigns.
“On the use of asphalt: contractors shall stick to only a 5 per cent Variation on Price in line with the signed contract agreement throughout the project and the signed contract shall not be subject to review, especially on bituminous items.
“The thickness of the asphalt pavement as designed must be strictly adhered to by all such contractors and the design shelf life for the asphalt (at least 15 years) shall be guaranteed by issuing an insurance bond through a reputable insurance company in favor of the Federal Government.
“For the use of concrete, contractors must abide by the 5 per cent VOP, and 50-year design shelf life using concrete grade 40.”
Umahi concluded by addressing critics of the concrete technology policy, asserting that they are individuals who do not have Nigeria’s best interests at heart. He criticized those importing adulterated bitumen, putting pressure on the nation’s economy, and emphasized the need to tap into Nigeria’s abundant God-given bitumen deposits.