Umahi threatens to sever highway agreement between Enugu, Port Harcourt

On Sunday, David Umahi, the Minister of Works, gave the contractor in charge of the Abia section of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Highway, which is presently undergoing rehabilitation, a 14-day notice to terminate the contract due to non-performance.

The notice of termination was ordered by the minister following an inspection of the work progress at Ozuaku after the Imo bridge along the Enugu – Port Harcourt expressway, according to a statement from Olusola Abiola, the director of information.

“After using all due process on construction, the minister of works has just directed a 14-day termination notice to Messrs China Civil Engineering Construction handling the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway,” the statement stated.

“We will have to give the termination notice after 14 days if they don’t comply with our requests.”

He clarified that subpar work by contractors would no longer be tolerated by the government and warned of the consequences of subpar work.

“Contractors putting blank ranks on site will no longer be tolerated by us. Additionally, they will be raising construction costs by pushing back the project’s completion date.

He revealed, “We at the Ministry of Works have come to an agreement that all non-performing contracts will be terminated and re-awarded using due process in the coming weeks.”

The minister emphasized the need for the Ministry to provide Nigerians with high-quality highways and said, “It is very important to appreciate all the efforts of Mr. President who has been providing funds for our road infrastructure projects; which is very, very good.” A

President Bola Tinubu deserves praise for providing significant resources for our road networks, Umahi continued, adding that “so it’s kudos to Mr. President and it shows that Mr. President is very, very sensitive to our road infrastructure needs.” This administration took over 3,000 road projects when it came to office. Thus, in spite of any blackmail, we must exert every effort to support the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” he declared.

Since taking office, the minister has issued two directives, this most recent one.

In September of last year, he issued an order to immediately halt construction at the Kaiama section of the East-West road in Bayelsa State due to concerns about the contractor’s subpar work.

Umahi expressed his frustration over the situation and claimed that even with N71 billion in funding, the contractor was producing subpar work.

After the contractor handling the project used inferior materials, the minister also ordered the immediate suspension of reconstruction work at the Eleme-Onne section of the East-West Road in Rivers State in January 2024. However, the suspension was later reversed twenty hours later following a meeting with ministry officials and the contractor behind closed doors.