By Seyi Babalola
Dave Umahi, the minister of works, has said that during a recent project inspection while driving on several federal highways, he started crying.
He characterized the procurement procedures as a significant obstacle to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s noble goals.
The former governor claims that no federal road now in existence can endure more than seven years.
“I shed tears for the kind of pains our people are going through,” the former Ebonyi State Governor said.
Some roadways, according to Umahi, are littered with “boreholes” in addition to potholes.
This was disclosed by him on Tuesday in Abuja during a meeting with contractors from the six geopolitical zones at the ministry’s headquarters.
He expressed shock at the way Nigerians were being defrauded by the materials used by contractors to build the nation’s roadways.
He said, “There is no project being constructed right now in Nigeria that is going to last for seven years. The question is are we going to be maintaining or reconstructing our roads every 10 years?
“That is what we have been doing. I travelled from Abuja to Benin City through Lokoja, all the stretches of the road are on contract, and ongoing, this is through the policy of the last administration but how much of the roads are motorable?
“I travelled through the roads myself and I shed tears for the kind of pain our people are going through.
“I spent 14 hours on the road having started my journey at 10 am and got to Benin City at 2 pm the next day and I was very happy I experienced the pains.
“President Tinubu said I must travel through all the projects so that I could brief him on my experience and tell him the truth.
“Unless Mr. President does something about our procurement, his lofty intention to help this country may not be achieved. Documents will be sent to the Bureau of Public Procurement for a no-objection certificate and it will stay for six months.
“How will the contractors do the additional job you directed them to do without backup authorisation.”
