I’ll Take Responsibility For Bad Roads – Dave Umahi

• Minister of Works David Umahi pledged to take responsibility for poorly constructed roads, emphasizing the government’s commitment to efficient project completion
• Umahi revealed over 2,000 stalled road projects inherited by President Tinubu, with plans to assess road conditions nationwide by Christmas

Minister of Works David Umahi has stated he will take responsibility for any poorly constructed roads built during his tenure, emphasizing the government’s commitment to efficiently completing road projects.

At a Thursday Federal Ministry of Works town hall meeting in Akure, he highlighted the administration’s determination to ensure quality. He promised to terminate contracts with companies that fail to deliver.

“We are committed to turning our stone to bread. There is no complaint, and we are not distracted. I will take responsibility for every faliure, any bad road, any ongoing road and not being constructed, but be assured that we are not sleeping,” he added.

“One of the things we saw when we came on board was that Tinubu inherited 2,604 road projects as of May 29, 2023, worth over N13 trillion. The contractors were being owed N1.6 trillion for some of the jobs done.

“So, the President, a man of courage, still must manifest all the inherited projects to fix them. Some projects are between 5, 17, 12, and 20 years. He believes that this project should be fixed in 14 months,” he said.

The minister said the Lagos/Calabar coastal highway passing through seven states would open up business opportunities, adding that the design for the section of the road in Ondo would also be concluded in November.

“Our books are very much open. We will conclude the design (for Ondo State) within November and we will inaugurate it.

“We have directed that all federal road controllers should give us details of roads within their domain, whether awarded or not, so that by this Christmas, all federal high roads will be motorable,” he added.

The meeting included support from Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who appreciated the federal government’s focus on impactful projects.

Akin Alabi, Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Works, commended the administration’s efforts and underscored the importance of holding contractors accountable, advocating for a “no-work, no-pay” policy to eliminate unproductive contracts.