… to fix and redesign the Lokoja-Ajaokuta road in two weeks
The terrible state of the Abuja-Lokoja-Okene road has caught the attention of the Minister of Works, David Umahi, who has described the road as a death trap.
He stated that after spending over N1 trillion by the government there is nothing to show.
The minister said this while addressing contractors from South-west in Abuja, on Wednesday. He explained that the project was a failure because of many potholes, collapsed bridges and kidnappings on the road.
He declared: “I am highly disappointed over the eight road projects we inspected. The last section of Lokoja to Okene is the worst. Contractors should fear God and do the right thing on projects.”
According to the Guardian, the former governor of Ebonyi State stated that road is everything, up to agriculture, tourism, medicine and education, in fact, all aspects of the economy.
“There is something wrong along the lines of execution,” he added. The minister, however, promised to correct the anomalies in the construction industry, stressing that for a project that runs into billions of naira, there should be concrete design or layout plan for it.
Pointing out that 1.6 kilometres stretch on the Abuja-Lokoja-Okene road is prone to flood, he vowed to review some contracts, while construction would with concrete technologies.
“Any contractor, who fails to deliver a project well, we will seize their certificate from other projects,” he added.
The Minister promised to redesign the Lokoja-Ajaokuta Road within two weeks, saying that the rehabilitation of the road will commence immediately.
He, on Wednesday, inspected the Abuja-Koton-Karfe-Lokoja Road and the Ganaja-Ajaokuta Road which had become a death trap to motorists since the 2022 flood disaster that destroyed some portion of federal roads in the state.
Umahi inspected the roads alongside Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
The minister assured motorists and the people of the state that a flyover will be constructed on the section of the federal road at Koton-Karfe which was destroyed by flood.
He also assured Nigerians that a permanent solution will be applied to all federal roads across the country to ameliorate the suffering faced by citizens during raining season.
In his remarks, the governor, who thanked the minister for swinging into action shortly after his inauguration as a minister, expressed concerns that since the flooding of 2022 the Lokoja-Ajaokuta road has remained a difficult terrain for trucks and cars coming from the South-South and South-East to pass to the northern parts of the country.
The Lokoja-Ajaokuta road which is six kilometre has been in a terrible situation. It is even worse during the flood as the roads is been submerged by water making them unpassable for motorists.
The road leads to South-East and South-South parts of the country, making the influx of vehicles on the road very high.