The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has set the record straight on the condition of the Benin–Onitsha Road, saying the corridor is not being neglected but is tied up in a 25-year Value-Added Concession Agreement that limits immediate government intervention.
In a statement issued by Mohammed A. Ahmed, Director, Information and Public Relations, Umahi responded to criticisms titled “The Benin–Onitsha Road: A Monument to Neglect and the Insensitivity of Power”, arguing that the narrative ignores history, contractual obligations, and ongoing Federal interventions across the South-East.
The Minister posed the following three key questions to critics:
How many times have they acknowledged Federal road projects being executed in the South-East under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Infrastructure Renaissance?
Was the Benin–Onitsha Road in its present condition only after President Tinubu assumed office?
Must every road in Nigeria be fixed within three years regardless of inherited contracts, concession agreements, funding constraints, and procurement laws?
He stated it is “intellectually dishonest” to present the road’s condition as the creation of the Tinubu administration, noting that the government inherited 2,064 deteriorating Federal roads and bridges after decades of accumulated deficits.
Umahi clarified that the Benin–Asaba section of the corridor was incorporated into the Highway Development and Management Initiative, HDMI, as a Value-Added Concession.
According to records of the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission, ICRC, the 125-kilometre Benin–Asaba Expressway is a 25-year concession where the pavement and Right-of-Way were concessioned to a private firm for development and management.
“Government is bound by law. It is bound by contract. And it must observe due process,” the statement said.
“It cannot arbitrarily terminate an existing Concession Agreement without considering the legal and financial consequences, including the possibility of litigation and humongous claims.”
He added that the Ministry has been engaging the concessionaire over the pace of work and demanding better performance.
A broader review of inherited highway concessions commenced in 2025 to address transparency, accountability and performance.
The Minister rejected the claim that the administration has done nothing for the South-East, listing ongoing or advanced projects including:
Enugu–Akwa–Onitsha Expressway – with 15km completed and reopened in April 2026
Onueke Highway and Flyover
Calabar–Ebonyi–Benue Trans-Sahara Superhighway
Rehabilitation and Dualisation of Enugu - Abakaliki - Ogoja Road
Dualisation of Afikpo – Okigwe Road
Access Roads to the 2nd Niger Bridge linking Asaba and Onitsha
Rehabilitation of Aba - Owerri Road
Rehabilitation Of Onitsha -Owerri Expressway
Rehabilitation of Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway
Dualisation of Aba-Ikot Ekpene Road
He noted that in June 2026, he publicly warned non-performing contractors and insisted that they must fulfil contractual obligations.
The Ministry said the appropriate test is not whether every road has been completed, but whether the administration has established a credible programme and whether projects are moving.
It cited funding adjustments such as reducing a section of the Abuja–Lokoja project from 49.28km to 28km to focus resources on critical portions.
“The South-East should not have to beg to be treated as part of Nigeria. Its people deserve good roads,” the statement said.
“But criticism should not become selective memory. When government undertakes major projects in a region, those projects should also be acknowledged.”
The Minister’s position, the statement concluded, is that the road matters, the concessionaire has obligations, and government must operate within the law while compelling performance.