Works Minister David Umahi has issued ultimatums to underperforming road contractors after an inspection tour of federal highway projects in Kogi and Edo States revealed a significant gap between the progress reports submitted to the ministry and conditions he found on the ground, warning that the administration of President Bola Tinubu would not allow contractors to use public infrastructure projects as vehicles for collecting mobilization funds without delivering proportionate work.
Umahi expressed serious concern about sections of the Abuja-Lokoja dual carriageway and the dualization of Obajana Junction to Benin Road, saying what he saw during the inspection was not reflected in what had been reported. He issued a deadline to the affected contractor to complete the required section within the stipulated period or face contract termination, and gave GELD Construction Company a separate 72-hour ultimatum to demonstrate visible progress before further action would be considered.
He disclosed that funding constraints had required a scope reduction on one section of the Abuja-Lokoja road, with the covered stretch reduced from 49.28 kilometers to 28 kilometers to concentrate available resources on the most critical portions. He directed Federal Controllers of Works, engineers’ representatives, and project supervisors to strengthen their monitoring mechanisms, enforce accountability from contractors more rigorously, and ensure that all procurement processes and expenditures were properly documented and justifiable.
Senate Committee on Works Chairman Senator Allwell Onyesoh said political office holders could no longer continue to absorb reputational damage from contractor failures, and urged the release of timely project funding as a complementary requirement for holding contractors to their delivery obligations. House of Representatives Committee on Works Chairman Hon. Akin Alabi described road development as a collective national responsibility and said the president had entrusted the ministry with the critical task of ensuring that Nigerians received infrastructure commensurate with the investments being made.
