The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has ordered the termination of the contract with Levant Construction Ltd for the reconstruction of the Benin-Sapele-Warri Road (Section 1: Benin–Imasabor).
The contract, executed under the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme, was terminated due to non-performance.
Speaking after a meeting with the Chief Executives of GELD Construction Ltd and SKECC Nigeria Ltd over delays in the execution of the Benin-Sapele-Warri road project, Umahi expressed disapproval over Messrs Levant’s failure to meet expectations.
“We have three sections there. We have the Levant section. Unfortunately, Levant has not lived up to expectations. We even had to intervene and beg the Governor of Edo State to please get the worst sections of that route done. We divided the worst sections into two and told Levant to concentrate on one part. While the Governor of Edo State intervened—which I think is about 23 kilometres for ₦35 billion—and that section is ongoing very well, Levant has since left the site. We gave them a series of warning letters. We also gave them the last termination notice. When a termination notice is given to you, it is for you to, within 14 days, go back to the site and begin to do those things you were not doing. This time is for them to remobilise to the site and work, but they did not respond,” he said.
He directed the Permanent Secretary to get the job properly terminated, write them a letter for joint measurement, and also write to their bank to request repayment of the APG—failing which the matter would be taken to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Minister, however, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of discussions with SKECC Nigeria Ltd and GELD Construction Ltd on the need for them to step up work on the sections of the project being handled by them.
He commended the Governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, and his Edo State counterpart, Monday Okpebholo, for their interventions on some kilometres of the road project.
“I have called the Governor of Delta State, and I commend him for the very beautiful work he’s doing—three flyovers at the same time, beautiful flyovers. In this country, we need such beauties. We have also learned from that design. So we appealed to him to get any contractor within that zone to put in 10 kilometres with reinforced concrete. He has accepted to do that. So I commend him very highly, which means that the Governor of Edo State is intervening in that section, and the Governor of Delta State is intervening in that section. We are grateful to them,” he said.
On the jobs by Messrs SKECC and GELD, Umahi stated, “SKECC has about one kilometre, which they started with milled asphalt. Yes, the money in the budget for SKECC within their section—NNPC allocation—is exhausted. But we are pleading with them to go back and remedy this one kilometre where they have milled the existing asphalt.”
For Messrs GELD, he said, “GELD has accepted to go back to their own section, and we’ve agreed to review their project to cater for the unforeseen circumstances they encountered. So they are going back to the site, and we’ve agreed to work very well with them. We’re happy about that. And the second job they have, which is the Lokoja-Abuja road, we’ve also agreed that they should go back to the site and review the project, because as of today, the asphalt cost is ₦9,000 per square meter, whereas asphalt is about ₦30,000 per square meter. So they are going back to the site on trust, and we’re going to do that.
“And then you get to the Itoki–Ikorodu road, which is 34 kilometres. We’ve agreed with them on all the issues. They are going back to the site, and I thank Mr. President for his interest in all the projects in the federation,” he added.
On the alleged slow pace of work on the Eleme-Onne project, which is also a Tax Credit project, the Minister explained: “When we came on board, the total cost was ₦156 billion for 30 kilometers of the road, plus decompile towards the Akwa Ibom section of the East-West Road, and then also a bridge at Aleto, and four flyovers. One flyover has been started at the refinery junction, and the Aleto Bridge is ongoing—a very beautiful design, an 80-meter span there, which is a beauty to behold.
“ Let me say that the contractor, RCC, after the initial fight with them, is behaving very well and doing beautiful work now. People were saying that we did not complete one carriageway. We’ve completed one carriageway. But they now say, ‘Oh, if you’ve completed, why are you doing asphalt on the same carriageway?’ If you go and check where we are doing asphalt on the same carriageway, you will find out that it is at the location of the flyover. We are not supposed to do that. But because we wanted seamless traffic movement, we said, ‘Okay, come and do asphalt in those locations.’”
Umahi also debunked statements by some groups purporting to speak on behalf of Northern Elders, who alleged that the Federal Ministry of Works is doing more projects in the South than in the North, as false and misleading.
He noted that the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Tinubu has been consistently inclusive in the implementation of road and bridge projects across the six geo-political zones, both in executing inherited projects and in distributing the Renewed Hope Road Legacy Projects.
While recounting numerous ongoing projects in the North, he stated, “In this ministry, we don’t count where anybody came from. We don’t count where projects are sited. We are using the example of Mr. President, who came on board. He took all the inherited projects of the ministry and continued with them. He didn’t care about the lopsidedness of the projects.
“For example, this Tax Credit of NNPC is only 55% in the South West and 4% in the South East. Niger State alone has 26%. So, he didn’t care where these inherited projects were. He had to, as a very unique leader, take over the entire thing, and he’s going on with them. And so we should stop looking at a project as coming from the North or the South because Southern people use roads in the North, and Northern people use roads in the South. We should see ourselves as one people, one country. This is very important.”
Also responding to criticisms on the distribution and funding of projects across the zones, he said, “They talked about the Second Niger Bridge. They talked about Lagos-Ibadan. They said Lagos-Ibadan is ₦195 billion. What they didn’t know is that ₦195 billion is the total contract sum from the past administration, and that what this administration is putting into completing the project is only ₦33 billion. So it’s not ₦195 billion. They talked about the Second Niger Bridge. Section II A is ₦134 billion, and Section II B is ₦174 billion.
“Now, if you look at the projects in the North, just to properly inform the people, look at the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road, Sections I and III. It’s ₦252 billion. Thirty per cent is already paid for that job. It is being done with the same quality as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. The job is ongoing. Section II is 164 kilometres and is ₦525 billion.”
The minister expressed commitment to the ministry’s mission of restoring Nigerians’ confidence in road infrastructure nationwide and making the people appreciate the transformational power of the Renewed Hope administration of Mr. President.
The briefing was attended by the Minister of State for Works, Rt. Hon. Bello Muhammad Goronyo, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Works, Olufunso Adebiyi, and directors of key departments.
