Umahi slams contractor over abandoned Abuja-Minna road project

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has criticised the poor state of the Abuja-Minna federal roads, expressing shock over the lack of visible progress by the contractor, Salini Nigeria Limited.

Umahi, who travelled by road from Abuja to Minna for a stakeholders’ meeting on Wednesday, noted that despite claims of 84.5 percent completion, there was virtually no work done on the 125km section of the Niger State component of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway.

Speaking at the event held at the Legbo Kutigi Conference Hall in Minna, Umahi highlighted the troubling state of the project, emphasising the need for accountability and a review of contractor performance.

“I saw the Abuja-Minna road, said to be 84.5 percent complete. Yet, I couldn’t see any work done. I even stopped to ask where we were supposed to start counting this 84.5 percent, and there was no answer. So, nothing was done,” he stated.

The minister condemned the recurrent practice of awarding funds to contractors who fail to deliver, vowing that such practices would no longer be tolerated.

“We’re going to take decisive action on this road. There’s no way we can let a project drag on for 14 years while the contractor continues to receive funds without progress. Salini will no longer receive budget allocations just to stall projects,” Umahi declared.

He further explained that the Federal Government, under President Bola Tinubu, inherited 2,604 projects amounting to over N13 trillion in May 2023, with certified project debts to contractors reaching N1.6 trillion.

However, the financial review has since revealed that the projects’ total costs now exceed N19 trillion.

He assured that Tinubu’s administration remains committed to seeing these projects through, listing them in the 2024 budget allocation.
Also speaking at the event, Niger State Governor Mohammed Bago condemned the deplorable state of the Abuja-Minna road, labelling Salini Nigeria Limited as a failed contractor.

He called on the Minister to revoke all contracts awarded to the firm, recommending that the jobs be reassigned to Hytech and CCECC, two companies he believes have demonstrated superior capability.

“We urge the minister to revoke all contracts awarded to Salini. They lack the capacity and have consistently failed to deliver. The section from Abuja to Kaduna was previously revoked, and I’m requesting the same for Suleja-Minna, which should be given to Hytech and CCECC. These companies have proven their competence,” Bago said.

The governor, expressing frustration with the repeated collapse of federal roads, said he would confront Salini’s representatives directly if given the opportunity.

“At the stakeholders’ meeting on Friday, I’ll present data and make it clear that they have failed. The shoddy work by Salini has led to these collapses. If they’re serious contractors, they should offer us a guarantee of 30 to 50 years on their work,” Bago stated.

The stakeholders’ meeting underscored the urgency for stringent oversight of road construction projects and a renewed focus on infrastructure delivery to meet the growing demands of citizens.