Benin-Asaba Road: FG to Rehabilitate Bad Sections as Umahi Orders Arrests

ABUJA — Works Minister David Umahi has directed security authorities to arrest any contractor caught completely removing asphalt from existing carriageways on the Benin-Asaba Highway.

The minister gave the order on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, during an inspection of the 125-kilometre road, following complaints by motorists and host communities about the worsening hardship caused by the construction work.

According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Ministry’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Mohammed Ahmed, Umahi also expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of construction by the concessionaire, Benin-Asaba Expressway Concession Company Limited (BAECC).

The minister accused the company of failing to follow engineering standards despite several warnings from the Independent Engineer, Yolas Consultants, and the Ministry.

He said the company’s construction methodology was contributing to the difficulties experienced by road users and residents along the route.

“You are not adhering to engineering best practices in road construction and your methodology is adversely impacting road users, host neighbourhoods and the pace of work,” Umahi said.

BAECC Managing Director, Samuel Daramola, had attributed the challenges to heavy traffic and double rainfall maxima along the road.

Umahi, however, dismissed the explanation as “unprofessional and untenable excuses” and apologised to Nigerians over the hardship caused by the poor state of the road.

He directed Federal Controllers of Works and Engineering Representatives to take action against contractors who completely remove asphalt from existing roads.

“I, therefore, direct all Federal Controllers of Works and Engineering Representatives to, henceforth, arrest any contractor who completely removes the asphalt from an existing road,” he said.

Umahi said the government would immediately engage a competent contractor to rehabilitate the worst portions of the Benin-Asaba Highway in order to ease traffic congestion and reduce the hardship faced by motorists.

The minister also assured road users that President Bola Tinubu “feels their pains.”

The Senate and House Committees on Works Chairmen, Senator Allwell Onyesoh and Hon. Akin Alabi, described the condition of the road as “an unacceptable disaster.”

The lawmakers pledged to undertake a nationwide review of concession agreements to ensure that concessionaires comply with the terms and obligations of their contracts.

Also speaking, Presidential Senior Special Assistant on Community Engagement, South-South, Mrs Gift Johnbull, said President Tinubu was aware of the plight of road users and had ordered that solutions be found.

Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo appealed for patience, saying the minister had identified a solution to the road crisis.

The Benin-Asaba Highway links AIF Roundabout in Benin City with Summit Junction in Asaba, providing an important connection between the South-East, South-South and parts of the South-West.

It is one of the pilot projects under the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI).

The Federal Executive Council approved its concession to BAECC in January 2023 under a 25-year Design, Finance, Build, Operate and Transfer (DFBOT) agreement.

The concession agreement was signed in May 2023, and the project was handed over in March 2025. The construction period was fixed at 36 months, running from April 2025 to April 2028.

During the inspection, the team also assessed two sections of the Benin-Sapele-Warri Road being executed by the Edo State Government on behalf of the Federal Government.

CBC Global is handling a 23-kilometre section that is 75 per cent complete, while CCECC is executing the 10-kilometre Section I, Phase 2, which is 25 per cent complete. Both projects are being built with Continuous Reinforced Concrete Pavement.

The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, meanwhile pledged that the commission would reconstruct a failed 15.4-kilometre stretch at the Edo-Delta border.

Following the pledge, Umahi directed the NDDC and Federal Government project teams to harmonise their activities on the affected sections.

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