The Presidency has described the recent failure on the Benin-Agbor-Asaba Expressway as an isolated incident, saying the Federal Government responded swiftly by deploying relevant stakeholders to the affected section and demanding immediate action from the contractor handling the project.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, stated this on Channels Television on Wednesday while reacting to the deteriorating condition of the highway and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive for its redesign and total reconstruction.
Dare said the condition of the road should not be used to assess 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,” he said.
He said the government had a responsibility to identify roads requiring intervention and provide the necessary funding, while contractors were expected to execute 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,” Dare said.
His comments came a day after the Minister of Works, David Umahi, inspected the troubled section of the Benin-Agbor-Asaba road in Edo State and apologised to commuters over the condition of the highway.
Umahi had taken responsibility for the state of the road and criticised the concessionaire handling its reconstruction, while directing steps towards the total reconstruction of the highway after concluding that palliative measures would not adequately address the problem.
The Benin axis of the road had experienced severe deterioration and prolonged traffic congestion, although the gridlock that had persisted for about two weeks had eased by Tuesday.
Dare said the rapid response by the Works Minister, members of the National Assembly and other stakeholders demonstrated the Federal 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.
“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,” he said.
The presidential aide maintained that the Benin-Agbor-Asaba road situation was not representative of all federal road projects, stressing that other roads across the country had been completed 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, noting that motorists might experience temporary inconveniences while major 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.
“A 100% solution, and I… you know, solutions are progressive,” he said.
Explaining the phased nature of road construction, he likened the process to building a house, noting that motorists may have to continue using existing sections while new portions are being 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 disclosed that the Federal Government was currently implementing major road projects across the country, including five legacy road projects and about 320 other roads.
He said the scale of the projects reflected the Tinubu administration’s emphasis on infrastructure development and commended the Ministry of Works for its role in executing the 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,” he said.
The renewed attention on the Benin-Agbor-Asaba corridor followed growing complaints over worsening road conditions, which have disrupted transportation, damaged vehicles and increased the cost of movement and doing business along the route.
The Federal Government has now directed that the affected road be redesigned and totally reconstructed, with authorities expected to monitor the process to ensure that the intervention addresses the long-standing challenges along the corridor.