Umahi orders contractor’s arrest over N14bn road project

File: Minister of Works, David Umahi

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, on Friday ordered the arrest of the Managing Director of Hartland Nigeria Limited over the company’s failure to complete an 11-kilometre section of the Benin-Onitsha Expressway despite receiving about N14bn from the Federal Government.

Umahi gave the order during an on-the-spot inspection of the expressway, expressing anger over the poor state of the road and the contractor’s alleged failure to deliver the work for which it had been paid.

The minister said the government had reached an agreement with Hartland to use the funds to complete the 11km stretch from Summit Junction to a bridge, including channelisation and hydraulic structures, but the contractor had completed only about 40 per cent of the agreed work.

He said, “We paid them up to N14bn and when I paid them that money, we reached an agreement that we were going to finish 11 kilometres from the Summit Junction to this bridge with the money I am paying you, and then do channelisation and hydraulic structures.

“But today, they have just done about 40 per cent of the agreement. So, I recalled the MD to discuss with him for them to come back to site. I am going to look for him to arrest him.”

Umahi directed the ministry’s controller to locate and arrest the managing director, while also ordering officials to retrieve details of the contractor’s payments and certificates for all projects being handled by the company.

He said the ministry would also take steps to recover funds paid to Hartland if the company failed to fulfil its contractual obligations.

The minister directed the relevant directors to immediately write to the banks involved to recover the money and ordered a comprehensive review of the contractor’s certificates and payments.

“I want the directors to call up the MPG immediately. You have to write to the banks to pay us that money. We are going to sanction Hartland. This is not acceptable,” Umahi said.

The minister also ordered the ministry’s officials to inspect both bridges on the affected section and assess about one kilometre of the road to determine the immediate measures required to ease the traffic congestion.

Umahi blamed what he described as contractors’ negligence for the worsening condition of parts of the expressway, saying minor interventions could have reduced the hardship experienced by motorists.

He directed ministry controllers across the country to ensure that contractors maintained roads under construction, irrespective of whether payments were outstanding.

The minister said, “If a project is going on, whether there is payment or not, you cannot allow the situation of the road to be like this. It is your responsibility to at least insist for stone base to be used to fill these places.

“I don’t want to see this kind of embarrassment again. Places where even N20,000, N50,000 or N100,000 can fix should not be allowed to worsen the suffering of the people.”

Umahi further ordered the immediate arrest of anyone found carrying out unauthorised dredging activities along roads under the ministry’s supervision.

He said, “If you see anybody that is doing dredging, I don’t want to know who the person is. You have to cause an arrest immediately. When you see a contractor that is on the road and a section is not passable, you do an arrest.”

The minister also directed another contractor, TCCCC, to provide drainage channels along a bypass where its construction activities had allegedly exposed nearby homes to erosion.

According to Umahi, although the government had yet to pay the contractor for the work, it remained responsible for putting measures in place to prevent the destruction of residents’ properties.

“If anybody complains of erosion in his house, we will hold them squarely responsible. In fact, I will arrest them. Let them immediately put the drainages on both sides of the road to control destruction of people’s houses,” he said.

The minister commended the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, for paying compensation to affected property owners along the project corridor.

Umahi said the governor’s intervention demonstrated concern for residents and the state’s economy, noting that prolonged traffic congestion along the corridor could negatively affect commercial activities.

He also commended the works officials in Anambra and Delta states for their efforts and urged other controllers to be more proactive in monitoring contractors and ensuring that road users were not subjected to unnecessary hardship.

The Benin-Onitsha Expressway is a major transport corridor linking communities and commercial centres across Edo, Delta and Anambra states and serves as an important route for the movement of goods and passengers between southern Nigeria’s major economic hubs.