By Daniel Tyokua
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has warned contractors handling federal road projects against collecting funds without deploying them to construction sites, saying those who fail to utilise released funds will be required to account for the money.
Umahi gave the warning on Wednesday while briefing journalists on the progress of major federal road projects across the country, stressing that the ministry would intensify site inspections and supervision to ensure value for money.
He said the ministry had also alerted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and civil society organisations to support the monitoring of federal projects.
The minister said the Federal Government inherited 2,068 ongoing projects valued at about N13 trillion, adding that borrowing for infrastructure should be regarded as investment where the projects were capable of generating returns.
On major infrastructure projects, Umahi said the administration of President Bola Tinubu had taken deliberate steps to integrate the Southeast into the national infrastructure network.
He said the region, which he claimed had been largely excluded from major federal projects under previous administrations, was now benefiting from several significant interventions.
“I was a party chairman. I was a deputy governor. I was governor. And no single project of the federal government came to Southeast. And today, we are having a barrage of projects,” he said.
Umahi said the Southeast might not rank among the regions with the highest volume of federal projects, but was no longer being excluded from major national infrastructure initiatives.
He cited the Second Niger Bridge and associated bypass projects, as well as two projects recently approved by President Tinubu, including the Obanewi-Oga axis linking parts of Imo State and a road connecting Otuwacha in Anambra State to Ibaji in Kogi State.
The minister urged the Southeast to embrace greater political cooperation with other parts of the country, describing the move as a handshake across the Niger.
“This is the right time. Let us have a handshake across the Niger, so that when our time comes, we will also be supported. I no dey for regional politics. I dey for national politics,” he said.
Umahi also dismissed reports of serious divisions within the All Progressives Congress (APC), particularly over his relationship with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Describing Wike as a progressive, Umahi said both ministers remained members of the same political family.
“We need Wike as Wike needs us. So, it’s one family,” he said, adding that perceived differences between them had been “magnified in the minds of our opponents.”
On the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Umahi said the first 47.47-kilometre section had been completed and was ready for commissioning, while the 55-kilometre second section covering the remaining Lagos portion was nearing completion.
He said construction had also commenced on sections of the highway covering Ondo, Edo, Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.
According to him, President Tinubu had approved the realignment of part of the coastal highway through the existing East-West Road due to flooding and climate change concerns.
He said vulnerable sections of the East-West Road would be raised by about two metres to protect the route against flooding.
Umahi said work was also progressing on the 1,068-kilometre Sokoto-Badagry Highway, as well as the Trans-Sahara corridor linking Calabar, Ebonyi, Benue and Kogi states and the North-East corridor stretching from Akwanga through Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe and Borno states.
He defended the procurement process for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, saying the project had undergone the required approvals and scrutiny by the Bureau of Public Procurement and the Federal Executive Council.
