After Days of Gridlock, Umahi Speaks on Benin–Asaba Expressway

Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has assured Nigerians that the Federal Government will address the severe gridlock and deteriorating condition of the Benin–Agbor–Asaba Expressway.

Umahi, who said he would visit the corridor on Tuesday, explained that the prolonged delay in government intervention was largely due to legal and bureaucratic constraints arising from the private-sector concession of the road.

“Tomorrow, we’re off to Benin–Asaba Expressway. I want Nigerians to be assured that when we get there, we will solve the gridlock problem. It is not caused by the Ministry of Works, but by our attempts to involve the private sector in road development like it’s done in other places,” the minister said.

The 125-kilometre highway is a major transportation route linking Nigeria’s South-South, South-East and South-West regions.

The minister explained that the Federal Government’s ability to intervene directly on the road had been affected by the long-term concession arrangement involving private-sector partners.

According to him, the government must operate within the terms of the agreement while seeking ways to resolve the challenges confronting commuters.

The situation has become particularly distressing for long-distance travellers. Passengers travelling from Lagos to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, were forced to abandon vehicles and carry their luggage on foot through sections of the gridlock before boarding motorcycles to Onitsha, Anambra State, to continue their journey.