The Honourable Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Umahi, CON, has assured Nigerians that the Federal Government will not allow the prolonged deterioration of the Benin–Asaba Road to continue, despite inheriting a concession agreement entered into by the previous administration.
The Minister spoke on Friday, August 28, 2026, during an inspection of Phase 2B of the Second Niger Bridge at the Nkwerre–Ezunaka section of the Onitsha–Enugu Expressway.
Umahi said the Federal Government inherited the concession arrangement with Africa Plus Partners Ltd as part of the agreements entered into by the previous government, but stressed that the overriding interest of Nigerians would remain the priority of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration therefore has to follow due process.
However, the minister made it clear that the concession would not become an excuse for government to allow Nigerians and road users to continue suffering. “Our hands are tied by the concession agreement that was entered before this administration. But overriding public interest is such that we are watching them, and if this suffering continues, we’ll invoke the law of necessity for overriding public interest,”
He disclosed that the Ministry of Works had already notified the concessionaire of its default and was exploring available legal options.
Rather than immediately cancelling the concession, Umahi said the Federal Government had also assembled about 7 contractors and offered to have them intervene on the road at no cost to the concessionaire.
The concessionaire, however, insisted that it would undertake the rehabilitation itself.
“They say, ‘No, we will fix it.’ So if we had said no, then they will now go and start earning money from federation account, which has been our fear. So we are watching them. We’ve left them. Let them fix the road,” he explained.
Umahi also rejected claims that the poor condition of the Benin-Asaba route was evidence of marginalisation of the Southeast, pointing to several major road interventions undertaken by the Tinubu administration along the Lagos-Southeast travel corridor.
He recalled that the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, completed under President Tinubu, has significantly improved movement from Lagos towards the Southeast.
He also highlighted the rehabilitation of the 48-kilometre section leading towards Ore, where President Tinubu directed that concrete pavement be used because of the difficult condition of the road.
According to Umahi, one carriageway of the 48-kilometre section has already been completed, with work now progressing on the other carriageway. Solar lighting and tree planting are also being introduced as part of the broader improvement.
Before addressing the road situation, Umahi also expressed confidence in President Tinubu’s political prospects ahead of the 2027 presidential election, saying the President’s infrastructure investments and relationship with the Southeast were strengthening support for his administration.
“President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, is going to win the 2027 election. He’s going to win,” Umahi said, expressing particular confidence in the President’s growing political standing in Anambra State.
He pointed to the performance of progressive candidates in the state’s recent off-cycle elections as evidence of increasing acceptance of the Tinubu administration and its policies.
