Hope returns as NDDC rescues Benin-Sapele highway

Most roads to Benin and Lagos from the east and south-south have collapsed beyond measure, thus forcing motorists to sleep for over four days on some of the roads. The Federal Government has reacted by either sacking some contractors or by ordering action to begin on some of them as the masses wail and call for a messiah.

Now, an arm of the FG, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has moved to action on one of the roads, the Benin-Sapele axis. It is said that the NDDC has mobilized equipment for rescue action on that road.

For many years, that expressway became a joke that stopped being funny, according to a top official of the Commission. Ditches and mud cripple trucks’ axles, disabling their wheels. Journeys take hours and days. Drivers and commuters face the wrath of robbers, and perishable food items rot in transit.

This pitiable situation is about to change as the NDDC has flagged off the reconstruction of a 15.4-km failed stretch of the expressway at Amukpe Roundabout, Sapele. The intervention, backed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive, is said to be the first major attempt to fix the road corridor comprehensively.

According to Samuel Ogbuku, the NDDC Managing Director, the Commission shared in the pains on that part of the East-West Road.

His words: “Following a directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene swiftly, the NDDC has mobilised two civil engineering firms to reconstruct the road. This will help minimise the suffering and gridlock faced by commuters.”

Ogbuku apologized on behalf of President Tinubu but observed that the decay of that road did not start today. “We feel your pain; the most important thing is that hope has come.”

Ogbuku reviewed the processes so far and said immediate intervention has come. He said to avoid the cycle of endless delays, NDDC engaged two contractors to work simultaneously from opposite ends. “We don’t want to be on this site for too long,” Ogbuku assured residents.

He added that the NDDC had previously intervened on the Irrua axis of the Benin-Auchi Road, which he said had remained impassable for years, as well as on the East-West Road, between Rivers and Bayelsa states.

Read also: Nigeria’s bad roads become security traps, deepen food inflation

Recently, it was revealed, the Federal Ministry of Works, Edo State Government, and NDDC carried out a joint inspection of the bad roads in Edo and Delta states after a Presidential directive. David Umahi, the Minister of Works, confirmed this.

The joint inspection by the Minister of Works, the Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, the NDDC management, and members of the National Assembly Committees on Works was a precursor to the intervention in the Benin-Sapele axis.

Speaking during the flag-off at Amukpe roundabout, Chiedu Ebie, the Chairman of the NDDC board, admitted thus: “We’ve all suffered the delays and pains on this road. So, today we are here to deal with a 15 km stretch of this alignment.”

Ebie said the NDDC was determined to complete the project and bring relief to commuters who had endured prolonged delays and difficult travelling conditions on the road.

According to him, the Benin-Sapele Expressway is not merely a regional road but a critical national economic corridor linking the South-South with other parts of the country.

Sheriff Oborevwori, the Delta State Governor, who was represented by Charles Aniagwu, the Commissioner for Works, Rural Roads and Public Information, formally declared the road reconstruction open.

He commended the NDDC for commencing the reconstruction of the failed portions of the Benin-Sapele Expressway, describing the intervention as a major boost to connectivity, economic activities, and the well-being of residents in the state and motorists.

The governor said the intervention underscored the importance of collaboration among governments and agencies in tackling infrastructure challenges across the Niger Delta region.

Aniagwu said the Delta State government had also intervened in several federal roads in the state because the ultimate beneficiaries were Deltans, irrespective of whether such roads fell under federal or state jurisdiction.

“We don’t differentiate,” Aniagwu said, stressing that the state government had spent over N300 billion on federal roads to make them motorable and reduce the hardship faced by road users.

He described the NDDC intervention on the Benin-Sapele axis as a welcome development, saying that when completed, it would ease transportation and contribute to the economic growth of Delta State and indeed other states on the East-West Road alignment.

The state commissioner appealed to residents and other stakeholders to cooperate with the NDDC and the contractors to ensure the project was completed timeously.

Governor Oborevwori echoed the need for permanent solutions, noting that Delta State had already approved N35.7 billion for the reconstruction of the Warri-Sapele-Benin Road.

It could be recalled that civil society groups have often demanded more than temporary remedial works. David Ugolor, a cleric, warned that ‘palliative repairs’ cannot solve a structural failure of national infrastructure and that without comprehensive reconstruction, sections may deteriorate again within a short period.

Giving details of the project, Victor Antai, the NDDC Executive Director, Projects, said the reconstruction covered 15.4 kilometres between Benin, Ologbo Junction and Sapele. The project covers the Ajomata/Ibada-Elume-Amukpe-Oghara section.

Antai said the NDDC and the Ministry of Works had agreed to work together on the intervention to ensure that the reconstruction conformed to the road’s original design.

In his goodwill message, Ede Dafinone, the Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District, thanked President Tinubu for responding to the cries of Niger Deltans by directing the NDDC to intervene.

In the same vein, Erhiateke Ibori-Suenu, the member representing Ethiope Federal Constituency and Chairman of the House Committee on NDDC, described the intervention as a major relief for her constituents and other road users.

She stated: “I want to thank Mr President for hearing the cries of our people. This tells you that he is a listening leader,” commending the NDDC for wiping the tears of our people.

For years, the poor condition of parts of the East-West Road gave jitters to motorists and other road users. The dilapidated sections were difficult to navigate, resulting in traffic congestion, hardship and disruption to economic activities.

The Benin-Sapele-Warri Road is described as “one of Nigeria’s most strategic highways and a major economic gateway to the Niger Delta”.

It links the Southwest to the South-South and moves goods, people, and oil haulage.

The Benin-Sapele-Warri Road has been described as one of Nigeria’s most strategic highways and a major economic gateway to the Niger Delta. For years, its collapse left motorists stranded for days, disrupted transportation of goods and exposed travellers to security risks.

With work now starting from the Sapele axis, NDDC assures it is committed to completing the project within the shortest possible time.

For the thousands who ply the road corridor regularly, the message seems clear: after years of gridlock, the bulldozers are finally moving, and the era of suffering is coming to an end.