Works Minister defends road projects progress

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has refuted allegations of underperformance, citing an 85 per cent improvement in road projects nationwide.

Umahi, at a news conference in Abuja on Monday, attributed his success to President Bola Tinubu’s support, highlighting the President’s unprecedented move to include all ongoing projects in the 2024 budget.

Umahi said that he inherited 2,604 projects with a total cost of 13 trillion and a debt of 1.6 trillion to contractors as of May 29, 2023.

He said that considering variations due to subsidy removal and dollar fluctuations, the total project cost now exceeded 19 trillion.

Umahi, who boasted of achieving over 85 per cent completion of road projects, added the President approved 300 billion for palliatives, resulting in the procurement and execution of more than 330 road projects, palliatives, and bridge repairs.

He said there were notable improvements in the Northwest, such as the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road, and completion of roads in states like Zamfara, Lagos, and regions like South-South and South-West.

Umahi emphasised that some projects, ongoing for 17-20 years, cannot be completed overnight.

He acknowledged that preparation time for pavement, asphalt, and other materials was often overlooked in assessing road construction success.