Benin-Asaba Road Nightmare: Travellers Stranded for Days as Umahi Blames Concessionaire

LAGOS — The worsening condition of the Benin-Asaba highway has left motorists and passengers stranded for days, prompting the Federal Government to announce a review of concessioned roads nationwide.

The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, announced the planned review yesterday during an inspection of the Benin-Asaba road, where he sharply criticised BAECC, the company handling the concession.

Umahi said the concessionaire had “failed woefully” and lacked the technical expertise to manage the project effectively.

He ordered a meeting involving all stakeholders to assess the problems and determine the way forward, while promising that the government would deploy a contractor to undertake short-term repairs and restore the road to a motorable condition.

The highway, which links Benin through Agbor to Asaba, has become a major source of hardship for travellers as failed sections, congestion and diversions have turned what should be a routine journey into a multi-day ordeal.

BAECC secured the concession in 2025 to transform the Benin-Asaba highway into a 10-lane road. The project was expected to be completed with toll gates by September 2027, after which the company would recover its investment and maintain the road for 25 years.

But Umahi accused the concessionaire of worsening the condition of the highway by removing existing asphalt against government instructions.

He said the company would have been arrested for destroying public property, insisting that existing asphalt should not have been removed.

While praising Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo for intervening in several federal roads in the state, the minister apologised to road users and said:

“He is not saying this is federal or state road. I apologise to commuters plying this road.

“The NDDC is willing to intervene. I am disappointed with the concessionaire. I take full responsibility for their misdeed and destruction of public assets.

“Ministry of Works does not allow removal of asphalt. We begged them not to remove it. The concessionaire should have been arrested for destroying public property. This road was not like this when it was handed over. I am instructing the ministry to arrest any concessionaire that removes asphalt on existing roads.”

Umahi further alleged that the concessionaire manipulated the process through which it secured the project.

BAECC: Heavy rain, traffic slowing construction

BAECC’s CEO, Mr. Samuel Daramola, defended the company, attributing the delays partly to heavy rainfall and intense traffic along the highway.

He said the company had already widened the road to eight lanes and carried out palliative works but was struggling to execute drainage work because of the continuous movement of vehicles.

Daramola said:

“We expanded the road. We have expanded to eight lanes. We did palliative work for some months. We are wrestling with weather as much as we want to keep to the scope of work.

“We expected our palliative work to have been completed long ago. We have to choose between doing side drains and combating heavy traffic. We are compelled to open the road when it is yet to cure. We have to do the work over again.

“We are funding this road with our money. How do we start with drains when there is heavy traffic? We have tried to engage all parties and communities. We are determined to ensure we complete this road. We have reputation to maintain.”

The representative of the project consultant, Engr. Toyin Akinlapa, however, disagreed with the explanation, saying the concessionaire failed to follow instructions.

He said:

“The concessionaire did not heed our instruction. We told them to first do the drains but they ignored us and that affected the road. The company had some challenges in their technical team.”

House committee seeks review

The Chairman of the House Committee on Works, Akin Alabi, called on President Bola Tinubu to review the concession agreement.

He said:

“We should review all such contracts. We cannot afford concessionaires who can be giving us issues. The people want to see good roads. There must be a palliative measures. Let us come up with a solution where people can move.”

Passengers spend nights inside buses

The crisis has forced some passengers to sleep inside their vehicles as they wait for traffic to clear.

A female passenger travelling with her two-year-old son told Vanguard at Agbor that she had spent her second night trapped in the gridlock.

She was travelling to Imo State for a ceremony but said she could not afford hotel accommodation, leaving her and other passengers to sleep in the bus.

She appealed to the Federal Government and other levels of government to urgently intervene, saying the road had become impassable to many vehicles.

‘From Lagos to Benin is four hours, but we spend three days’

A truck driver who had spent three days on the road described the situation as frustrating and urged the government to act before the festive season.

He said:

“From Lagos to Benin is four hours, but when you get to Benin, we spend three days.”

According to the driver, the government had merely scattered portions of the road without doing enough to restore it.

He warned that the situation was particularly dangerous for operators carrying perishable goods.

“The Federal Government has only scattered the road without making enough effort to fix it. If we are carrying perishable goods, by now the goods would have spoilt. What are we going to explain to our customers? Vehicles keep falling.”

A Benin resident said the road crisis had also taken a toll on businesses in the area.

He said:

“A lot of businesses have shut down here. This bypass road leads to many destinations, including Abuja, the South-East and Delta.”

‘Three days to deliver cargo from Lagos to Asaba’

Another driver working for a Lagos-based logistics company said he spent three days transporting raw materials from Lagos to Asaba.

According to him, he left Lagos on August 20 and did not arrive Asaba until August 23.

He said:

“I left our office in Lagos on August 20 and arrived Asaba on August 23. I spent three good days on the road. Right from Benin bypass, where I spent a day and got trapped in Agbor.

“I spent two days and two nights at Agbor. Even at night in Agbor, you will think you are at a busy market because lots of passengers came down from their vehicles in search of food and water.”

Youths demand action

The Chairman of the Ikpoba Hill Youth Forum, Kingsley Osemwingie, said the concessionaire had not done enough to address the road’s condition.

Osemwingie said residents had protested the situation and urged the government to replace the contractor if it was incapable of executing the project.

He said:

“Last week, we had to protest the plight of the people. If the contractor is not capable they should change it.

“Some days ago, there was lock-down on this road due to the bad road. It has caused a lot of damages to lives and property.

“We urge the Federal Government to do what is right. We are appealing to the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to do something about the road before the next raining season.

“That is what the youths are advocating.”

Cleric: Road project has failed to deliver relief

Rev. Philip Aroje, a cleric who has lived in the area for about 30 years, said residents initially welcomed the arrival of the concessionaire because they expected the project to ease the suffering of road users.

He recalled seeing road construction activities and asphalt plants around Agbor but said these had not translated into significant improvement.

Aroje said:

“Early this year when the contractor, the concessionaire, came on board, we felt there was going to be relief. We saw them opening the roads from Agbor Park to a community called Uguni.

“We saw a lot of asphalt plant. One was by the river and another by a community before Ugoneki. Unfortunately, all of these have not translated to better use of the road.

“As a matter of fact, this is the first day people are able to ply this route. Whatever that can be done to make this road possible, we will appreciate it.”

PANDEF raises alarm over South-South roads

The National Chairman of PANDEF, Ambassador Godknows Igali, described the condition of roads across the South-South as alarming, saying the oil-producing region had been reduced to a state of “crisis.”

Igali spoke against the backdrop of the Benin-Agbor-Asaba road crisis, accusing the Federal Government of neglecting infrastructure in a region that contributes significantly to the country’s economy.

He said:

“We are the goose that lays the golden egg, but that goose has almost been starved. I never said the President should only concentrate on one part of the country, even if we are the revenue base of the nation,” Igali said. “We only demand, and rightly so, to be treated with fairness and equity. It is becoming almost impossible to connect within the South-South.

“From Benin to Auchi, there are so many bad sections. Going from Auchi to Okene, which is an entrance into the South-South, is almost impossible. On the other side, from Benin, once you pass towards Akure, it is also very bad. So, we are in an almost crisis situation.

“Our people are not happy. They may not say it out of respect, but people are very bitter and sad.”

The growing crisis on the highway has sparked renewed concerns over the condition of major federal roads as the festive season approaches, with motorists and businesses bracing for increased traffic and movement of goods.

Africans Angle News