The Federal Ministry of Works has rejected claims that the Benin Onitsha road has been deliberately neglected, saying intervention on part of the corridor is constrained by an existing concession agreement.
The ministry said the poor condition of the road predates the Tinubu administration and should be assessed against inherited infrastructure problems, contractual obligations and available funding.
According to the ministry, the Benin Asaba section forms part of the Highway Development and Management Initiative and is governed by a 25 year concession.
Under the arrangement, the road pavement and right of way were transferred to a concessionaire for development and management.
The ministry said the government could not simply terminate the contract and award the road to another company without observing legal and contractual procedures.
It warned that an arbitrary cancellation could expose the Federal Government to litigation and significant financial claims.
The ministry said it had nevertheless been pressing the concessionaire to improve performance and had begun reviewing inherited highway concession agreements to strengthen transparency, accountability and value for money.
It also rejected suggestions that the administration had ignored the South East.
Projects cited by the ministry include the Enugu Onitsha Expressway, Enugu Abakaliki Ogoja Road, Afikpo Okigwe Road, Aba Owerri Road, Onitsha Owerri Expressway, Enugu Port Harcourt Expressway and Aba Ikot Ekpene Road.
The ministry said an initial completed section of the Enugu Onitsha Expressway was reopened in April 2026.
It acknowledged that motorists on the Benin Onitsha corridor continued to face delays, vehicle damage and safety concerns.
Government said those complaints were valid and that pressure on the concessionaire would continue through lawful means.
The ministry also highlighted broader funding constraints in the road sector, saying limited resources had forced government to prioritise critical sections of some projects.
It argued that infrastructure performance should be assessed on the total number of projects completed, under construction and affected by inherited legal or financial constraints.
The ministry maintained that the Benin Onitsha road remained an important national corridor and required urgent improvement, but said any intervention had to respect existing contractual obligations.
