Hope returns as NDDC rescues Benin-Sapele Highway

After years of gridlock and grief, relief is beckoning as the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), mobilises construction equipment to begin the reconstruction of the collapsed Benin-Sapele axis of the East-West Road.

For many years, the Benin-Sapele Expressway became a joke that stopped being funny. 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-kilometre failed stretch of the expressway at Amukpe Roundabout, Sapele. The intervention, backed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive, is the first major attempt to fix the road corridor comprehensively.

According to the NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, the Commission shared in the pains of motorists who had suffered while using the Benin-Sapele strip and other bad spots on the East-West Road.

He stated: “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.”

“The bad road in the region did not start today. This has been the situation for a long time. I apologise on behalf of Mr President to the people of this area and the commuters for the hardship they have passed through. We feel your pain; the most important thing is that hope has come.”

Ogbuku said the NDDC had engaged the Federal Ministry of Works, obtained the project design and secured approval for the site to be handed over to the commission for immediate intervention.

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.

 “Most goods stay on this road for two to three weeks, in some cases, one month. It has also increased the cost of goods in our markets and also in our communities, so reconstructing this road will benefit all of us,” he said.

 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. 

Recently, 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. The Minister of Works, Engr. David Umahi, affirmed that the emergency response followed “a direct instruction from President Bola Tinubu, who is deeply concerned about the severe hardship commuters, residents, and local businesses face daily.”

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, the Chairman of the NDDC Governing Board, Chiedu Ebie, admitted: 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. 

He assured residents that two contractors would work from opposite ends of the project to accelerate its completion.

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.

The Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, who was represented by the Commissioner for Works, Rural Roads and Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, 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 Delta State had already approved N35.7 billion for the reconstruction of the Warri-Sapele-Benin Road.

Recall that civil society groups have often demanded more than temporary remedial works. Rev. David Ugolor 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, the NDDC Executive Director, Projects, Dr Victor Antai, 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 conforms to the road’s original design.

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

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

 “I want to thank Mr President for hearing the cries of our people. This tells you that he is a listening leader,” she said, 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 is clear: after years of gridlock, the bulldozers are finally moving, and the era of suffering is coming to an end.