By Daniel Tyokua
The Minister of Works, Mr. Dave Umahi has set February 28, 2026 deadline for the completion of ongoing expansion of the Kilometre Mararaba-Keffi road in Nasarawa state.
He gave the ultimatum to the contractor after inspecting the progress of the work on Friday.
Umahi also removed the FCT Controller of Works overseeing the project, over issuing of fraudulent certificates that led to payments for incomplete or unexecuted jobs, including earlier palliative works.
He directed the Permanent Secretary of the ministry to redeploy the officer immediately and assign a new Controller to take over supervision of the project.
The minister said supervising officials have the authority to deny certificates and escalate any contractor’s non-compliance.
He said the sanctions imposed would stand unless reversed by the President.
Umahi directed China Harbour Engineering Company, the project contractor, to submit a detailed work timetable and a written commitment confirming its readiness to meet the February deadline.
He expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of work and attributed the delays to both the contractor and supervisory lapses within the Ministry of Works.
He ordered the immediate removal of hand-moulded caps along the road, instructed that concreting of the median should commence without delay, and directed the installation of solar-powered streetlights along the entire stretch.
“I am giving you the end of February to hand over this job. You must come to my office on Wednesday with your timetable and a commitment to complete the project by then,” the Minister said.
He noted that repeated inspection visits had yielded little improvement.
Umahi warned that indiscipline, negligence and failure to enforce directives would no longer be tolerated in the ministry.
During the inspection, the Minister also assessed progress at key points along the corridor, including the Keffi flyover, where he reiterated that both contractors and ministry officials must discharge their duties diligently in the interest of Nigerians.
