The administration of President Bola Tinubu has issued a directive for contractors handling the 107km Enugu-Onitsha road dualization to accelerate their efforts, following growing frustrations over the slow pace of the project. This directive was highlighted during an inspection tour of key federal road projects in Enugu, where Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, accompanied by Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, voiced his displeasure at the ongoing delays and the impact on road users.
Senator Umahi, who was visibly dissatisfied during the inspection, criticized the prolonged blockage of significant sections of the Enugu-Onitsha expressway by RCC, a subcontractor under MTN. “Let me express my disappointment over the slow pace of work on that project. It is one of the worst roads in this country,” Umahi remarked, emphasizing the urgent need for the contractors to expedite their work.
Umahi noted that over 3km of the road, particularly at the Abakpa sections, have been blocked, causing severe inconvenience to travelers. “Everywhere we have diversion; diverting from the one that RCC and Nigercat had completed, the contractors are not kind enough to even put stone base on the diversion points,” he lamented.
In a statement on Friday, Umahi underscored the government’s commitment to alleviating the hardships faced by road users due to ongoing construction. “By the reason of the launching of our Operation Free our Roads, it is now a violation of the policy on the side of the controllers and directors of the Federal Ministry of Works where we have vehicles falling on any project that is ongoing or where there are potholes on our roads,” he stated.
The minister did not mince words in attributing the sufferings of road users to what he described as the “lack of commitment and insensitivity” of the contractors. “The public must know that the President’s intention is not for them to suffer while trying to fix the roads, and it is their right to insist that contractors should fix the roads that they are engaged on,” Umahi asserted.
Despite the challenges, Umahi praised the Enugu State government for its proactive decision to fund the construction of a 20km section of the road, expressing optimism that MTN would fulfill its commitment to the second phase of the project. “Why the Enugu State government is intervening is because of the slow pace of work by the contractors and because of funding issues. The essence of tax credit is for funds to be made available,” he explained.
However, Umahi voiced skepticism about the ability of RCC to meet its promise of completing the project within six months. “I don’t see RCC going to keep their promise to finish this project in 6 months,” he said. Offering a solution, Umahi advised MTN to consider engaging another contractor within that axis to ensure the timely completion of the road. “Division of labour is even the best. While they are doing the road, and if Nigercat is doing a good job, you can give them greater scope to do if you want to finish that job.”
Umahi made it clear that the federal government would no longer accept phased handovers of projects and announced the phasing out of Variation of Price in contract administration. This, he noted, was in line with the government’s determination to see projects completed promptly and efficiently.
