Federal Ministry of Works

Jul

2025

LATEST PRESS

HONOURABLE MINISTER OF WORKS, SEN. UMAHI EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF FORMER PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, DESCRIBES HIS DEATH AS A GREAT LOSS TO THE NATION.

The Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON, has expressed condolences on the passing of the immediate past President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR.

He describes the late former President as a disciplined politician and a leader with profound integrity and sense of frugality who loved and served his country with unwavering dedication and who left positive footprints in his service to the nation as a Military Head of State and as a democratically elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Honourable Minister sends his deep condolences to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the family of the late former President and the government and people of Katsina State, and prays God to grant his family and associates the strength of fortitude during this difficult time; may they find confort in the knowledge that we belong to God and to Him we shall return.

Mar

2024

Works Minister Committed to Speedy and Quality Delivery of Road Infrastructure Nationwide, Says The Policy of No VOP on Mobilization is a Measure to Ensure Value for Money and Timely Completion of Projects 1. The Honourable Minister of Works. His Excellency, Sen. Engr Nweze David Umahi CON has restated the commitment of the Federal Government under the Renewed Hope administration of His Excellency, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR in ensuring that all the Federal Road projects are executed speedily and delivered in best standards. The Honourable Minister gave this assurance during his inspection visit to the rehabilitation work at Enugu- Port Harcourt dual carriageway section 4( Aba-PH) executed by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd(CCECC).He commended the contractor handling the project for showing purposefulness, and he therefore announced the revocation of the warning letter issued to CCECC a fortnight ago over their delay in mobilizing to the site despite the government's directive."The warning letter given to CCECC for slow pace of work is hereby revoked. The new pace of work is excellent, the job quality is excellent, and the Controller sends me progress reports every day. " 2. The Honourable Minister, who also inspected the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Enugu- Port Harcourt dual carriageway section 2 ( Umuahia Tower- Aba Township Rail/ Road) in Abia State, handled by the Arab Contractors; the East West Road section 111( Eleme-Onne junction) in Rivers State handled by Reynolds Construction Company Nigeria Ltd; the Rehabilitation of Enugu- Port Harcourt Expressway Section 3( Enugu -Lokpanta) in Enugu State handled by CGC, said he was impressed by the progress of work on the respective projects. He said of RCC" I want to commend RCC openly and with all sincerity. I will also take the quality of work going on to Mr. President because he directed me. I was just barely one week in office when he directed me to go and flag off this project because the leaders of Niger Delta came to visit him, and they complained bitterly about the road. " He spoke of the good job by the Arab Contractors and said," I am very happy that the Arab Contractors has done a good job. I commend the contractor. Anybody who wants to see a good job should come here. The Controller of Abia State is doing extremely well together with his engineers." While at the CGC project site, he said, "I have seen the work they are doing, they are doing a very beautiful work. The job quality is very good and the speed is also very good. They are among the contractors that have the highest number of equipment in any of their project sites. So I commend them very highly. " 3. The contractors who spoke during the inspection visit to their respective projects said they were committed to the new order in road infrastructure development in Nigeria and assured the Honourable Minister that they would ensure quality and speed in the delivery of their road projects. The Project Manager of CCECC in charge of Enugu- Port Harcourt Expressway, Mr Henry Shaw said, "I am going to assure you that the Honourable Minister, His Excellency is a professional Engineer with a great difference. He knows everything, so nobody can cheat him." ...

Mar

2024

Works Minister Visits Zamfara Governor, Says Dualisation of Zaria - Gusau - Sokoto Highway on Course …..Umahi says no variation on 30% mobilization advanced to contractors “Mr. President has not stopped the dualization of Zaria - Gusau - Sokoto highway rather, the projects will be completed, and the design would even be improved upon.” “There were rumors that Mr. President has stopped this project and even the NNPCL tax credit; that is not the truth at all. In fact, he has given more life to the tax credit of NNPCL.” Adding “though the NNPCL projects are not funded by NNPC 100 percent. We still have a funding gap of over N2.7 trillion to get them completed”. The Honourable Minister of Works, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON, made the disclosure today at Government House Gusau when he paid a courtesy call on the Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal. Affirming the position of the Federal Government, he said “Mr. President has approved that we should take the funding gap to the National Assembly for approval. So, it's not just committed to the commitment of NNPC, but it's committed to the entire completion of the projects. Continuing, he said “he is the one that has asked us to visit this project, just like other ones, they are very important and key to Mr. President. Commending the contractor handling the Sokoto - Gusau road, Sen. Umahi said “we have not seen everything they are doing, but the little we've seen is excellent. in fact, that project, the neatness and quality looks excellent”. Explaining the delay in the progress of work, Sen. Umahi disclosed that “my directive was what slowed down the job. But I have redirected having come and examined the projects.”, he reassured his audience.” On the issue of payment of compensation to those affected by the dualization of the roads, the Honourable Minister called on the relevant State Government to follow the commitment of Sokoto State which has agreed to settle all payments regarding compensation to the people concerned. Meanwhile, the Honourable Minister, while speaking to some journalists along the Gusau - Funtua Road, after inspecting the ongoing work by Setraco, warned contractors that there would be no variation on 30% mobilisation advanced to them. According to him “the contractors must know that I will never pay variation on mobilized funds or works that are delayed.” “Because if we do not obey the timetable, inflection and time will catch up with us.” Stressing “it’s the Federal Government that is losing. That's why if we have little money to complete the project and we prolong it, then the Federal Government is unable to further source for funds”, he reasoned. During his remarks, the Governor of Zamfara State, praised the vision of President Bola Tinubu for the road sector, noting the commitment of the Honourable Minister has truly helped to realize Mr. President’s goals. He expressed his joy about the news that the construction of the Zaria - Gusau - Sokoto was still on course. He therefore pledged the support of his administration to the Federal Government, while requesting Sen. Umahi to look into the rehabilitation of Gusau-Dansadau road. Sen. David Umahi was accompanied to the Government House by former Governor of Sokoto State, now Senator representing Sokoto Central Senatorial Zone, Aminu Tambuwal and other senior government officials. ...

Feb

2024

Inspection of Ongoing Federal Roads Rehabilitation in Northwest Zone: We Know Concrete Road Technology Will Be A Huge Success, Says Works Minister …..BUA Cement restates commitment to reduction in price We know that concrete road technology is going to be a huge success for the benefit of our people, says the Honourable Minister of Works, Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi, CON. According to him, we are sure that utilizing concrete road technology is the right decision and so we have not made any mistakes insisting that concrete road technology should take its root, especially in some of these key projects.” The Honourable Minister disclosed this today in Sokoto while fielding questions from journalists after the inspection BUA Cement facility which is part of his inspection of ongoing rehabilitation of highways in Sokoto State. Speaking on his visit to the State, Sen. Umahi disclosed that “first, I'm here to inspect as you know, a very ambitious road project being embarked upon by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Nigeria, Senator Tinubu Ahmed. He added that the Federal Government was “constructing 372 kilometers of roads, multiplied by two, which means its dualization. One road is an existing one, which we are doing complete rebuilding, and then a brand-new road, again, of 372; a total of 744 km roads. The Honourable Minister revealed that “Mr. President wants this road very fast, but wasn't too sure if we can get the volume of cement to use. So, we are constructing the first 372 kilometers running from Kaduna, Zaria, Zamfara, to Sokoto, with asphalt as the carriageway, and then the shoulders will be concrete”. Adding that “but the entire new lane, carriageway, will be constructed with concrete.” Stressing the agenda of President Tinubu for the road sector, Sen. Umahi reiterated that “I know very well that Mr. President's still desires that the public should get something much better. And he's giving all the support, so we still expect that you will fulfill the promise you made to Mr. President as we're going back to the status quo so that the public can benefit. “The very massive housing project Mr. President has embarked upon will definitely see the light of the day. And also, the massive road construction Mr. President has embarked upon will also benefit from this initiative.” Commenting on his impression of facility tour of BUA Cement, Sen Umahi said “So we have gone there, we have seen, and it's quite amazing, the complexity of the cement factory of BUA in Sokoto.” “We saw very organized industrial setup, no single dust. There was no need to use a nose mask. There was no loitering of workers, everything being in automation.” While speaking to journalists about the cooperation of BUA Group with the Federal Government on the reduction of price of cement, the Group Executive Director, BUA Cement, Alhaji Kabir Rabiu while thanking the Minister, told them his company stands by their commitment made to the Federal Government two weeks ago. He said further that “then we gave a commitment, not only on the pricing, but also on additional capacity to go to the market, reassuring that with 165 additional trucks on a daily basis from our Sokoto cement allotment, we're putting almost 400 trucks by day of cement into the market.” “We believe this additional capacity is going to have a serious positive effect on the supply and demand issue in the country, he emphasized. He reaffirmed that “we also gave in our commitment that we don't believe cement should sell more than 7,000 Naira anywhere in Nigeria. He thus promised that “we will continue to do our best to support this administration, to support Mr. President's agenda in ensuring that Nigerian economy is back on its feet and is doing so much better than it is doing at the moment.” On his part, the Senate Chairman of Committee on Housing, Senator Aminu Tambuwal noted that cement product is very critical and a major component towards delivery of housing projects by the Federal Government by state governments and even by the private sector in our country. The inspection visits by the Honourable Minister to Sokoto and Zamfara States will see him inspect four projects across four States; which includes Katsina and Kaduna States. ...

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

Jul

2024

OTHER NEWS

Jan

2022

FASHOLA CONDOLES WITH ADENIRAN OGUNSANYA FAMILY OVER DEATH OF FORMER SSG

The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN has condoled with the Adeniran Ogunsanya Family, the Government and people of Lagos State over the passage of the former Secretary to the State Government, Princess Adenrele Adeniran Ogunsanya.

Expressing deep shock and sadness over the death of Princess Adeniran Ogunsanya, who served as Secretary to the State Government from 2007 to 2011 during his first tenure as Governor of Lagos State, Fashola said that her passing was a huge loss not only to the historic town of Ikorodu and Lagos State but to the country in general.

In a Press Release signed by the Special Adviser on Communications to the Hon. Minister, Fashola noted that Princess Adenrele Adeniran-Ogunsanya’s single minded devotion to public service, politics of inclusion and women advocacy as well as her humaneness would be sorely missed by all.

A scion of the famous Adeniran-Ogunsanya family whose patriarch served meritoriously as Minister in the First Republic, Fashola said that Princess Adeniran-Ogunsanya brought her rich experience to bear while serving as the Secretary to the State Government in the Class of 2007-2011 in the Lagos State Cabinet which he had the privilege to lead.

While praying that Almighty God will grant the immediate family members of the deceased the fortitude to bear the sad loss, Fashola implored them to take solace in the fact that Princess Adeniran-Ogunsanya throughout her earthly sojourn bore aloft and admirably without stain the banner of committed public service for which the family had always been known. He also prayed that Almighty God grants her soul peaceful repose.

SPEECHES

Mar

2021

The Highway Development Management Initiative Ministerial Notice Delivered By H.E Babatunde Raji Fashola, San At The Conference Hall Of The Ministry Of Works And Housing On Tuesday, 22nd March 2021

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our Permanent Secretary has already welcomed you all to this event, the official ministerial notice of the commencement of the Highway Development Management Initiative (HDMI).

What remains for me to do is to get on with the business of issuing the notice for the HDMI to commence the procurement process; after a few preliminary remarks.

As you all know, one of the early initiatives of the Buhari administration was to improve the ease of doing business, and it is no secret that infrastructure was going to be an important driver of this initiative.

Since 2015, the administration has made no pretence about its commitment to improve the stock of infrastructure both in qualitative and quantitative terms in many sectors from roads and bridges, to rail, airports and seaports to mention a few.

Currently the government is executing over 700 different contracts which aggregates to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of over 13,000 km of roads and bridges across all the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory.

As a result of the size of the undertaking, there is an increasing and unsatisfied demand for funding to finance these projects to completion and to maintain them.

There is also the need to finance other complementary services like weigh bridges, rest houses, towing vehicles and road furniture which seem better suited for the commercial initiative of the private sector.

In the interim, government is constrained to borrow, offer tax credit, increase her revenue mobilization capacities in order to sustain this massive infrastructure renaissance.

This is the background to the HDMI which is another effort to mobilize private capacity, resources, and entrepreneurship into the Nigerian highway sector; and hopefully convert roads from just social assets into assets of commercial opportunities and enterprise.

The HDMI is made up of 2 categories namely the Value-added Concessions (VAC) and the Unbundled Assets Approvals (UAA).

The UAA provides opportunity for small businesses to take advantage of the commercial opportunities that are available along the ROW while under the VAC the road pavement and entire right of way is concessioned for development and management by the concessionaire .

The VAC will be rolled out in phases, and this First Phase involves 12 roads namely:

1. BENIN – ASABA (125KM);

2. ABUJA – LOKOJA (193KM);

3. KANO – KATSINA (150KM);

4. ONITSHA – OWERRI – ABA (161KM);

5. SHAGAMU – BENIN (258KM);

6. ABUJA – KEFFI – AKWANGA (122KM);

7. KANO – MAIDUGURI (lot 1 Kano-Shuari 100KM ;

lot 2 Potiskum-Damaturu 96.24KM )

8. LOKOJA – BENIN (270KM);

9. ENUGU – PORT HARCOURT (200KM);

10. ILORIN – JEBBA (129KM);

11. LAGOS – OTA – ABEOKUTA (80KM);

12. LAGOS – BADAGRY (79KM)

These 12 roads were carefully chosen to ensure that each of the 6 (SIX) geo political zones are covered.

They aggregate in total to 1963.24 km which is 5.6% of the 35,000 km Federal road network.

The initial capital investments that we foresee is something in the order of NGN 1,134,690,048,000.76 and the employment potentials are an estimated 50,000+ direct jobs and 200,000+ indirect jobs.

The process started on the 17th June 2020 with legislative consultation to get parliamentary support and endorsement which I believe was successful and we are assured that if there is need for legislative support, the response will be reasonably swift.

It was followed by a Stakeholder consultation (webinar) which held on the 25th June, 2020 with Over 1,173 participants including critical stakeholders such as legislative representatives, representatives from the executive, prospective concessionaires, road users, media and industry experts; a market sounding session was also held on the 31st August, 2020 with 162 participants.

In the course of this journey, we have struck strategic partnerships with some high-profile brands who have offered their services in various aspects of the project development such as KPMG, UK NIAF, Lagos Business School etc.

We look forward to further exploring and strengthening these partnerships and the clear terms of the relationships will be notified to the public in due course as they are important to the success that we expect.

As published, not only has the right of way of the 12 roads been fully gazetted, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) , as a regulatory body for concessions of this nature, has issued the Certificate of Compliance for the Outline Business Case that is necessary to commence the process.

On the 3rd of March 2021, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), the highest executive decision-making organ of the Nigerian Federal Government was notified about the commencement of the procurement process.

In order to ensure competitiveness and to guarantee transparency, a procurement portal has been developed to serve as the interface with the public and manage the HDMI from Procurement to Implementation.

The portal will provide:

a. An interface that will provide the public all the information they need to know about the Initiative. It will give access to relevant documents, news updates, videos and so on;

b. E-procurement – The management of the PPP procurement process of the VAC and the process of approvals and permits under the UAA;

c. Vendor Market Place – This has specifically been included to promote local businesses and vendor partnerships with prospective concessionaires.

Therefore, let me say to all those who have been writing letters of inquiry, making offers of interest on the HDMI, offering to provide services like tolling, weigh bridge, rest houses and so on; we are sorry we cannot respond to those letters in order to maintain the integrity of this process and to keep the playing field level.

To all of you and to those who have not written or called, the day is now upon us, the venue is fixed and I have the pleasure to announce that the HDMI portal https://hdmi.worksandhousing.gov.ng/) will open on Monday the 29th March, 2021.

The portal will be open for all HDMI related functions as earlier stated and most importantly the RFQ application for the VAC which will be officially advertised on the same day.

Please visit the portal and I wish you all a very interactive and rewarding experience.

Let me repeat that all our transactions will be done through this portal and we will not entertain any personal inquiries to me or to any of our staff who have correspondingly been mandated not to entertain such requests.

Let me conclude by saying that we expect a vibrant process and a successful one that unleashes the commercial opportunities on Nigerian highways from paved roads, to clean and well-maintained highways, proper signage and route assurance signs, rest houses and commuter support for emergencies like vehicle towing and repairs.

We expect a splendid and safer commuting experience for all users of these roads as a result of the HDMI.

I thank all members of the Ministry and the ICRC and our partners especially KPMG and UKNIAF who worked tirelessly to bring us so far and urge them to prepare for more hard work in weeks and months ahead in order to bring this initiative to conclusion. More grease to their very hardworking elbows.

Thank you all.

Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN
Honourable Minister for Works and Housing