REJOINDER: Umahi’s Roads: The Other Side of the Story

By Dennis Agbo

Today I came across an article, “FG and Umahi’s Roads to Hell – 2,” published in one of the Nigeria national dailies. The article written by a prominent columnist raises legitimate concerns about the deteriorating federal roads, particularly the Benin–Agbor–Asaba corridor and some roads in the South-South region. Those concerns deserve attention because road safety and the condition of Nigeria’s highways directly affect lives, commerce and mobility.

However, presenting the condition of some federal roads as a complete picture of the performance of the Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, leaves out a substantial part of what has happened in Nigeria’s road sector since he assumed office in August 2023. The record is more complicated than the impression that nothing has changed. From 2,064 inherited projects to a nationwide intervention programme. One of the biggest challenges Umahi inherited was the sheer number of ongoing federal road projects. In February 2026, the minister disclosed that the Tinubu administration inherited 2,064 active road projects valued at about ₦13 trillion and had begun prioritizing and phasing them. By May 2025, the Works Ministry had also announced that 260 emergency and special-intervention road projects had been completed nationwide. The projects were intended to restore access, improve road safety and reconnect communities. These are not claims that every federal highway has been fixed. They demonstrate, however, that the minister's tenure has involved actual interventions across the country rather than merely announcements.

The Benin–Agbor–Asaba road question:

The questions and issues raised by Dr. Sobowale on the Benin-Agbor-Asaba road should be treated as a specific project-management and road-safety issue rather than proof that every road intervention under Umahi has failed. Indeed, the minister's own statement that asphalt removal was contrary to ministry policy indicates that the ministry recognised a problem with the manner in which the concessionaire was handling the road. The appropriate question is therefore what corrective action followed, whether contractual obligations were enforced. Meanwhile, the Minister had since intervened on the road and motorists have received safe and functional highway.

The bigger picture is that even with the existence of bad roads, does not mean that no roads have been completed or substantially improved. Since Umahi became Minister of Works, 260 emergency and special-intervention road projects reported have been completed nationwide;

15 kilometres of the Enugu–Onitsha Expressway reopened to traffic; major reconstruction of the Enugu–Onitsha corridor using reinforced concrete; accelerated intervention on the Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway; construction of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway; commencement of the 125-kilometre Akwanga–Jos section of the Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe corridor; renewed interventions on major South-East highways; hundreds of inherited projects being reviewed, prioritized and phased; and increased use of reinforced concrete and other durability measures on strategic highways.

Tinubu’s major road Projects transforming Northern Nigeria

The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu intensified investment in road infrastructure across Northern Nigeria, with several major highways either completed, substantially delivered or undergoing reconstruction under the supervision of the Minister of Works, David Umahi. Among the major projects is the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Highway, where the Federal Ministry of Works has 108-kilometre stretch from Tungan-Maje in the FCT to Jere in Kaduna State fully completed, while work on the next section is progressing. The administration has also continued the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Kano–Kwanar Danja–Hadejia Road, linking Kano and Jigawa, as well as major sections of the Kano–Maiduguri corridor, which passes through Jigawa, Bauchi, Yobe and Borno.

In Kaduna State, work has advanced on the Nnamdi Azikiwe–Kaduna Western Bypass, a 21.47-kilometre dual carriageway designed to ease congestion in Kaduna metropolis. Other significant northern interventions include the Zaria–Hunkuyi–Dabai Road, the Kano Northern Bypass, and the Kano–Kazaure–Daura–Mai'adua corridor. The Federal Government has also embarked on new strategic routes. These include the 122-kilometre Kaduna–Mando–Birnin Gwari Road, formally flagged off in August 2026, and the 700-kilometre Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe–Biu–Maiduguri Superhighway, which was flagged off in July 2026 with the 125-kilometre Akwanga–Jos as the first section of the road.

The Akwanga–Maiduguri superhighway is designed to improve connectivity between the North-Central and North-East, while supporting trade, agriculture, security and movement of people and goods. The Dikwa–Gamboru–Ngala Road and Maiduguri Ring Road are also among the major projects being pursued in Borno State. The scale of the intervention, therefore, extends beyond completed roads to include substantial rehabilitation and the commencement of new strategic corridors. The Federal Ministry of Works says the projects are intended to improve connectivity, reduce travel time, strengthen economic activity and reconnect communities across the northern states.

Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway

Perhaps the most prominent road project associated with President Tinubu and Umahi's tenure as Minister is the 700-kilometre Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway. Just last Month, Umahi reported that Section One had been completed, covering 7.47 kilometers from Victoria Island to Elepe Village, while Section Two, covering about 50 kilometers from Lagos towards the Ogun border, was about 70 per cent complete. Sections 3A and 3B, covering approximately 67 kilometers, were also reported to be progressing. The project has attracted controversy and criticism, but the physical construction taking place on the corridor is equally part of the factual record.

South East/South-South Roads Corridor:

The Enugu–Onitsha Expressway is one of the South-East's most important economic corridors. In April 2026, the Federal Government reopened the first 15 kilometers of completed sections of the highway. The road had previously deteriorated severely, with journeys along the corridor taking considerably longer because of its condition. Practically, the road was deserted and commuters took alternative routes. Auto crashes on the road rose in the same proportion as fuel tankers’ terrible accidents. The project was also restructured, with 72-kilometre section designated for reconstruction using reinforced concrete pavement, at an estimated cost of about ₦150 billion. The first 15 kilometers of that reinforced-concrete section was about 97 per cent complete when opened to traffic. That is a measurable intervention on a road that serves one of Nigeria's busiest commercial corridors.

The Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway has also received sustained attention under Umahi, same as the East-West road that connects several parts of the south-south states. The ministry moved to accelerate work on the corridor and imposed deadlines on contractors where progress was considered inadequate. In November 2025, Umahi directed the contractor handling the remaining 4.5-kilometre Abia section to complete the work by the end of that month, warning that the contract could be revoked if the deadline was not met. The significance here is not simply that a deadline was announced. It illustrates the minister's approach of physically inspecting projects and confronting contractors over delays. Every Nigeria is aware of how the Minister has always remained on Nigeria roads inspecting and directing contractors to strictly keep to designs of the roads. The Enugu–Ebonyi Road and Enugu–Benue corridor are among other roads being executed in the South East to North Central Region, just like Markurdi- 9th mile Enugu dual carriageway rehabilitation.

A shift towards concrete and durability

Another significant feature of Umahi's tenure has been the push towards rigid pavement and reinforced concrete on major highways. The Works Ministry says the new approach is designed to increase durability, particularly at critical sections of highways. Umahi has said the government is introducing concrete shoulders where asphalt is used and prioritising reinforced concrete on major routes. The Enugu–Onitsha intervention is one example of this approach. Whether every road constructed under this model ultimately achieves the lifespan projected by the ministry is something that can only be established through long-term performance. But the change in construction methodology is a documented part of the minister's road programme.

Umahi's aggressive contractor-supervision policy

Another distinguishing feature of Umahi's tenure has been his frequent field inspections and confrontations with contractors over delays. On the East-West Road, for example, he gave the contractor handling the Eleme Junction–Onne Junction section an April 2025 deadline and threatened possible re-scoping and re-awarding if additional resources were not deployed to accelerate the work. Similarly, on the Enugu–Port Harcourt corridor, the minister threatened contractual consequences over slow progress. This approach does not excuse projects that remain incomplete or roads that have deteriorated. It does, however, provide a different picture from the suggestion that the ministry has simply stood by while contractors determine the pace of work.

The fairest assessment, therefore, is not that every road problem has been solved. It is that the Umahi era has produced both visible road interventions and continuing failures that require scrutiny. The Benin–Agbor–Asaba road, the concerns raised by South-South stakeholders and other deteriorating highways no doubt deserve urgent government action. At the same time, completed sections of road interventions and the major national corridors under construction are evidence that there is another side to the story. Nigeria's road crisis is decades old. It cannot reasonably be attributed entirely to a minister who assumed office in 2023. What should be demanded from Umahi, and from the Federal Government, is measurable delivery: completion of projects, value for money, enforcement of contracts, road safety and infrastructure that remains serviceable after commissioning. That is the standard by which the Works Ministry should ultimately be judged.