The disclosure by the Minister of Works, Engineer David Umahi, that President Bola Tinubu has approved more than 260 road repairs interventions across the 36 states of the and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is soothing. This is borne out of the fact that over 60% of road crashes in Nigeria is a consequence of bad road network across the country.
The minister, who dropped the hint at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, last week, while speaking with journalists after an audience with President Tinubu in his office, said that the emergency repairs on the 260 roads nationwide will gulp about N217 billion. He added that President Tinubu had approved more road construction works, including project upgrades.
Umahi said the president has also approved the resurfacing of the Third Mainland Bridge, construction of Lekki deep seaport road, re-construction of two collapsed bridges in Enugu and reconstruction of two locations on the Onitsha-Owerri road. Other roads approved for construction include the upgrading of the ongoing Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia road, dualisation of the Lafia by-pass.
“I’ve always commended Mr President for his deep interest in reinstating most of our roads in the country. Every day we get a lot of concerns from the public on the very deplorable situation of our roads, but there is no paper I brought in respect of that that Mr President has not approved.
“Just yesterday he approved over 260 road interventions across the 36 states and the FCT. You’ll recall that last week he approved a lot of emergency roads and bridges repairs; we have three bridges that collapsed on the South-west roads, he approved for reconstruction immediately. We have the Shendam- Lafia that collapsed; we also have the approval for its repairs.
“We have about 17 points along the East-West road that have been destroyed by flood; Mr President has approved and released money for the immediate repairs. Of course, the Third Mainland Bridge’s resurfacing and repairs of some noticeable deflections, which have to be done under the deck on top of the water with equipment, he has also approved that.
“Two bridges that collapsed in Enugu, approved by Mr President; the two locations on the Onitsha-Owerri road, Mr President approved the reconstruction; Lokoja-Abuja road, Mr President approved the reconstruction.
“This afternoon again, Mr President approved upgrading of the Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia road, of course, it’s ongoing, but it’s a PPP with the Chinese and we’re paying 15%. Also, the construction of the Lafia Bypass Dualisation from Makurdi, through Otukpo, through Oboloafor, down to 9th Mile, it’s a major one, but Mr President has approved it. This is also being financed by the China EXIMBank. Lafia-Keffi road is also financed by Chinese EXIMBank.
“Then the 7th AXA road, Lekki Deep Seaport (access), in Lagos. You know the Lagos state government is building the deep seaport, meaning that all the cargoes that cannot berth at the existing ports in Lagos can now come to that location and that’s where the Dangote Refinery is located.
“I saw thousands and thousands of well-established companies that are already installing their equipment there. It’s to be a huge free trade zone. So, Mr President has approved that I should go ahead and sign MoU and that it should be programmed for priority in our business with the Chinese”, he said.
Umahi said the president has also approved the “reconstitution of FERMA Board. And this is very good for us; this is so that work can now get a bit more serious with FERMA in terms of very prompt maintenance of the roads”.
Asked how soon Nigerians should expect to see mobilisation to site, Umahi said, “There’s a process; we’re doing the designs and procurement and selecting contractors to do this. We’re calling some contractors that have existing projects within these locations.
“We’re getting selective renderings from the approval of BPP and these are the procedures. I’m sure with the onset of dry season from November, these works will get started and we’re going to put a lot of pressure on them for them to complete the works,” he said.
Umahi, the immediate-past governor of Ebonyi state, without a doubt, performed superlatively, particularly on road infrastructure, during his eight-year tenure. The Umahi administration upgraded Abakaliki, the Ebonyi state capital, from a glorified local government headquarters to a modern capital city. All the roads linking the 13 local government areas of the state were reconstructed and asphalted, together with the internal roads of adjoining minor cities across the three senatorial zones of the state. Bridges and over 17 flyovers were constructed, including the wonder Edda Iyere Flyover, Afikpo South local government area, described as the Third Niger Bridge of the South-east.
We, therefore, expect Umahi, a structural engineer, to replicate his development ingenuity and strides in Ebonyi state or even surpass it at the federal level. To say that Nigerian roads are death traps is to state the obvious. It is sad that while the citizenry is plagued by insecurity caused majorly by Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, etc, they have to also grapple with the high death toll arising from road crashes. This situation is as deplorable as it is unacceptable.
