Umahi lambasts Benin-Asaba Expressway concessionaire over shoddy job – Daily Champion

Chris Akhabue, Edo

It was a mild drama in Benin City, Edo State capital, as the Federal Minister of Works, Engr David Umahi in company of the Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, visited the construction site of the Benin-Asaba Expressway.

The Minister who was visibly angry at the dilapidated Benin-Asaba Expressway, could not hide his feelings as he lambasted the concessionaire for a shoddy job executed on the road while thanking the Governor Okpebholo for being able to pacify the people who are visibly enraged by the suffering caused by the shoddy construction work.

“Governor, we want to thank you; without you, there would have been an outbreak of riots on this road because of the shoddy job the concessionaire has done so far.

“I am very, very disappointed with this concessionaire and I offer apologies. I take full responsibility for the misdeed, and for the destruction of public assets by the concessionaire

“I have the conditions of contract here with me. The Ministry of Work does not allow anybody to remove the asphalt or the road as the Concessionaire has done on this road. That is against the policy of the Ministry of Works.

“I’ve been here with the governor of the state, and at that time, they started removing the asphalt. We frowned at it, and we begged them not to remove the asphalt but yet they did.

“But you should have been arrested for the destruction of public assets. It has nothing to do with concessioning law or anything. And I’m directing all controllers to arrest any contractor or concessionaire that removes asphalt on our route. This road was not like this before we handed it over to you. It was not like this.

“And what jargon are you speaking? You are speaking unintelligently, telling us about the traffic build up.”

Be added, “Did you not see the road very well before you decided to take the contract? You ran through every way to manipulate the process, and you got the job. Now you are complaining because you lack technical competence. You have no knowledge of road construction.

“You don’t know what you are doing. You have no technical competence. You have no technical staff. And now you have brought untold hardship on the people. A competent contractor would have known what to do.”

The Minister equally blamed the government for failure to verify the competence of the contractor before awarding such strategic gateway

“And it’s also the fault of the government because when you are doing concessioning, you have to find out about the technical competence of the so-called concessionaire. You have to find out where the concessionaire had done job before but this was not the case.

“You are talking about reputation and integrity. Where else have you done work before , you are learning how to do construction on a federal road,” Umahi queried.

The Minister, however apologised to the Ikpoba Hill residents, the entire people of Edo State, and every motorist and all road users for the hardship caused by the Concessionaire, explaining that actions would be expedited to remedy the damages done by the Concessionaire.

The governor of Edo state, Okpebholo, appealed for calm, saying that the government would expedite actions to remedy the situation in no distant time.

Also speaking during the road inspection, the chairman of Ikpoba Hill Youths Forum, Comrade Kingsley Osemwingie told the minister that the dilapidated nature of the road is tarnishing the image of the governor of Edo state whom he described as a working governor.

The concessionaire CEO, Mr Samuel Daramola, who was visibly shaken and embarrassed by the company’s inability to fix the road but rather has rendered it worse off than he met it, could not offer any reasonable explanation on his failure and why he excavated the existing asphalt from the long stretch of the road leaving it bare for the rain to completely wash of the road rendering it totally unusable.

He blamed the heavy traffic flow and torrential downpour for the failure.

He however apologised to the people of Edo State, adding that he would expedite actions on the repair process to “bring the dividends of democracy closer to the doorstep of the people.”

For a better society

_______________________________

Follow us across our platforms:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/championnewsonline/
Facebook – https://web.facebook.com/championnewsonline
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/champion-newspapers-limited/
https://x.com/championnewsng/

You can also like and comment on our YouTube videos.
https://youtu.be/QIBfD1tT80w?si=R4Qf3so2LxYu3GC2