Federal Ministry of Works

Mar

2026

LATEST PRESS

UMAHI DECLARES AN END TO YEARS OF DEADLY TRAPS AND GRIDLOCK ON THE ENUGU–ONITSHA EXPRESSWAY, SETS MARCH 31 DEADLINE FOR REOPENING

The Honourable Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Umahi, CON has declared that the long-troubled Enugu–Onitsha Expressway is fast shedding its grim past, as the Federal Government intensifies a sweeping infrastructure upgrade across the South-East under the President, His Excellency, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.

Umahi made the declaration on Monday, March 23, 2026, during an inspection of ongoing projects in Enugu, including the Enugu–Onitsha Expressway and the Eke-Obinagu Flyover, where he expressed confidence that the era of consistent fatal accidents, endless traffic, and public frustration along the road is coming to an end.

“I’m going round the six geopolitical zones assessing what is possibly to be commissioned before May 29th by Mr President. There are mega project that the President will be available for before May 29th and we mean it,” the Minister said.

Once regarded as one of the most dangerous highways in the region, the Enugu–Onitsha road had for years been plagued by tanker explosions, loss of lives, and economic disruptions. But Umahi said decisive intervention by the Tinubu administration has changed the trajectory.

“Now this route, the Enugu-Onitsha expressway, you recall that when we came on board, everyday, people were talking about this road. There were a lot of tanker accidents, a lot of people died and so forth. But my joy is that the whole thing is a past story, because the President has swinged into action,” he stated.

The Minister disclosed that the dual carriageway, which spans 107 kilometres on each side, is undergoing a major structural shift, with a significant portion being converted from asphalt to concrete to ensure durability.

“It is not only that we are repairing this road… about half of it is going on to be concrete. I have no confidence in asphalt I continue to say it. By the time the asphalt fail we will have 50 percent of the road still intact and if it fails within the second tenure of the president then be rest assured that we will fix it,” he said.

He added that the same approach is being extended to sections in Anambra State, including the head bridge axis, where an initial asphalt design is being replaced with concrete pavement to align with modern highway standards.

“At the head Bridge we have 39k, we’re changing that to concrete so that we can have this coastal road type of road pavement there in Anambra and here in Enugu,”.

Beyond reconstruction, the project is also being enhanced with solar-powered street lighting and environmental features aimed at improving safety and sustainability.

“So that is going to happen but then not only that. We are putting solar light both for the one that was constructed before us and the one that is being done by us. Within the first one week we will have solar light up to this 1km and we continue we are also going to plant trees which is very important,” he added.

The Minister urged the people of the South-East to recognise the level of federal intervention in the region, noting that such attention to infrastructure was previously lacking.

“The people of South East have to be very grateful to Mr President. The reason is that we never had it like this. I was governor for 8 years and I can’t think of any Federal road project in Ebonyi State,” he said.

He also cautioned against divisive narratives, warning that some actors were misleading the public for selfish interests.

“I want to ask our people to be very very careful, there are people that pretend that they are helping us but they actually inciting us against government… we need to know when people are genuinely interested in our case,” he said.

Calling for sustained support for President Tinubu, Umahi described the ongoing works as part of a broader effort to correct past neglect and integrate the South-East more fully into national development.

“Let us allow this man that have started to right the wrong metted on us as the people of Southeast in the past. Let us allow him the next four years and we will be very much fully integrated,” he stated, adding, “To know the revolution that is going on in infrastructure… this is the Biafra we are looking for.”

As a major milestone, the Minister directed that the Enugu–Onitsha Expressway be reopened for public use on or before March 31.

“I have given the controller the authority, by the 31st or before, he should call the press to open this road, call the people of South East… let them know that this road is open for travel and that will be our Easter celebration,”.

Addressing concerns over project costs, Umahi clarified that the Ministry of Works does not unilaterally determine project pricing, noting that approvals pass through multiple regulatory layers, including the Bureau of Public Procurement and the Federal Executive Council.

“I’m not the final authority when it comes to the cost of a project, there are layers of approval, the Bureau of Public Procurement, their own stands and not my own,” he explained.

He maintained that the standard being applied to the Enugu–Onitsha project is consistent with major road projects across the country.

“The same road architecture as the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway… so no discrimination with the president, everybody is the same,” Umahi said.

Sep

2023

FG Will No Longer Accept Road Contract Certificate for Payment Generated by One Person – Umahi .....No one will make unnecessary request during road construction – Eleme LGA Chairman. The Honourable Minister of Works H.E Sen (Engr) David Nweze Umahi has remarked that the Federal Government will no longer accept road contract certificate for payment generated by one person, he made this statement while inspecting some roads within Rivers and Akwa Ibom States on Wednesday. He said “No longer will certificate for payment be generated by one person, contractor must sign it, resident engineer as well. state controllers, regional controllers, and they will all endure inspections are done, state Commissioners of Works shall generate work done, prepare the certificate with calculations and geotechnical reports, sketches and valuation, then they will bring it to me, the moment I see that things are working I will sign within 6hours”. “I have directed that any project that motor users cannot go through the entire length and breadth of the project awarded to a contractor, I will not sign the certificate, contractors must maintain all the roads, the length and breath within their contract , I am directing the controllers and Directors of the Regions to ensure between Abuja and Port Harcourt they must fix the remedial works within the next 14days” He briefed the press. The Minister, speaking further said “how could a payment certificate be given for a road that has failed and the contractor is on site and you turn around to blame the leaders, who signs the papers ?, you sign the paper and originate the certificate but I have directed that enough is enough , they must show me how increase in our contracts come about , anyone can sign a paper for them to pay but as for me I will not sign anything that I don’t know how it came about if you want to do ashphalt continue with it but you must sign a performance bond that the road must not fail within the life time of the project , I want Nigerians to know that overloading is not responsible for failure of the road , most of the contractors have jobs in more than ten locations with two equipment so they cannot cope with the volume of jobs”. The Minister had also directed that any contractor without COREN Certified Engineer must not be allowed to work, he said any consultant or civil servant that behaved the way they have been behaving their certificate would be withdrawn. Umahi said President Ahmed Bola Tinubu is determined to end the sufferings of the road users in Nigeria, he said “road is everything to this country, road is everything to Commerce, road is everything to Solid Mineral, Medicine, Education, Agriculture and to Food Security". The Honourable Minister was approached by youths of Eleme during his inspection for upgrading of four lanes to six lanes for Eleme junction to Onne junction road projects in Rivers State where he promised them that he would work with the youths to ensure that the road does not remain the same. Earlier the Eleme Local Government Area Chairman, Hon. Obarilomate Ollor who spoke on behalf of the youths said “ I thank the Minister for coming to inspect this road on behalf of Mr President , this bad road has been responsible for the untimely death of so many people and more that ten thousands of vehicles ply this route daily , and from what you have said the youths will cooperate with you to deliver this project and we will not make unnecessary request”. Some of the projects inspected by the Minister in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states included Aba- Port Harcourt road, Bodo Bonny road, Ogoni bridge, Reconstruction of Abak – Ekparakwa –Ette- Ikot Abasi road and the dualization of the East West Road Section four at Eket By Pass. ...

Sep

2023

Umahi Invites Directors of Ferma Engineers in Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, And Akwa Ibom Over Failures on East West Road .....Minister passes vote of no confidence on the construction of East West Road The Honourable Minister of Works H.E Sen (Engr) David Nweze Umahi in his continuous assessment of the Nigerian roads has travelled by road from Abuja, through Kogi, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa up to Port Harcourt in Rivers State through the famous much talked about East West Road to inspect the progress of work on the highway by himself on Tuesday the 19th of September,2023. The Minister said “ I have invited all the Directors of Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) with their engineers from Edo , Delta , Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom , they should be able to attend to the small failures and redeem all the places that failed on the road and I will hold a meeting with Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC ) Managing Director this evening to find out how we can collaborate on this road”. On the East West road he said he had discussed with the Edo State Governor that the East West road passed through his state and that was what is causing the traffic jams and hold up, he said they have to design a bye pass, so that the heavy trucks can stop ,moving through the town , it is by so doing that the gridlock can be stopped and business activity in the state can improve. Umahi said “We have to look at our constituency projects to see how our constituency projects can be meaningful and impactful and I will be discussing this with the leadership of the House of Representative and the Senate“. While berating SETRACO construction company working on the East West Road the Minister said “the gimmicks the contractors are using is excuse of overloading. I am passing A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE on the construction of this road, I won’t certify anything on this road, the road has failed, and it is not acceptable to us. the road is full of pot holes , we have paid over N71b and the road has completely gone down, and the road has been further reviewed from N44b to 144b billion , apart from the beautiful bridge you have built , the road has completely gone down , project manager tell your team to meet me in Abuja on Monday to tell me what has caused the failure on the road, I do not accept it is overloading truck, our roads are not properly being constructed and I demand that these roads must be properly constructed , it is a fight that Nigerians must win and Mr. President must win this fight for the sake of the Nigerian people to truly enjoy the dividends of a democratic Government. ...

Sep

2023

Minister of Works, State Governments in Joint Inspection of Edo and Delta Federal Roads. ....."I have just directed that every project must have a COREN registered engineer”- Umahi. .....Community Group, Driver express hope of having a good road soon. The Honourable Minister of Works H.E. Sen (Engr) David Nweze Umahi, the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Chief (Sir) Monday John Onyeme and the Commissioner for Roads and Bridges in Edo State Osazemen Ethan Uzamere with some stakeholders toured some ongoing road construction works in Edo and Delta States respectively on Monday. During the joint inspection, Levant Construction Company that is handling some of the Federal Government Road projects linking Edo and Delta States in Benin were directed by the Minister of Works to do the maintenance work of the construction of Benin – Sapele road at night and that work should start immediately, while the bad spots should be made motorable within 30days. Umahi said “we have directed them to immediately maintain the road , we are redesigning the road irrespective of the fact that they have gotten advance payment , we are redesigning the road on concrete , We have agreed with the commissioner of Works and Bridges in Edo State that the drains should be opened so that the water can go out in order for the contractor to maintain the road, I am giving the contractor 7days to come up with the new design so that we all look at it together”. The Minister said “ I have looked at the road projects from Abuja to Benin City , the intention of the past administration all the way from Abuja to Benin City , very wonderful intention I commend the initiative but Nigerians do not have value for all money spent on the roads, I was on the road for 14hours with all the securities attached to me and if I could be on the road for 14hours imagine what ordinary Nigerians are passing through without security , this is not acceptable ". "Unless we change our procurement process, this country cannot move forward. I am very happy that Mr President is a man of infrastructure, he is a man that knows how every aspect of this country will be reset, I am very happy about that, and I will do everything within my power to support him” Umahi told the states stakeholders. He said , “On the side of the contractors there are no good intentions , they don’t have enough personnel that are qualified , I have just directed that every project must have a Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN )registered engineer to be the project manager for all contracts for every company on the road and the person must not have less than 15years on road construction and I have also directed that we shall no more do surface dressing on our road shoulders , I have directed that all projects must stop and be redesigned on concrete , the truth is that non of these roads that are built from Abuja to Benin will last more than 5years and that is very unfortunate , roads are failing because most of the contractors don’t do what is called penetration test , we also have adulterated bitumen , the bitumen imported into this country are adulterated , they should go to Ondo and Ogun State and develop our abundant bitumen there “. “We don’t want to put anybody out of business but we must develop our economy, they should employ our engineers; material engineers, geo technical engineers, surveyors, structural engineers and road engineers , every project should not have less than seven professionals supervising it for Ministry of Works, we are going to reset our road construction so that the people can smile again under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu” the Minister reiterated. The Deputy Governor of Delta State, Chief (Sir) Monday John Onyeme after touring Benin –Sapele –Warri road , Sapele Roundabout , ongoing dualization of Sapele –Ewu road , Sapele – Agbor road and Nigerian Port Authority roads in Delta State with the Minister at a press briefing said to the Minister “ Thank you for coming to see for yourself the importance of caring to do these roads , I do know that you have been tested , we have no fear that you will do it . We assure you of Delta State support and we will give you 100% cooperation”. Earlier in Benin, a community group known as Sapele Road Bypass Axis Group (SARBAR), through its Association General Secretary Pastor Moses Omo- Osagiede said “We are happy with the visit of the Honourable Minister to Edo State on road inspection and we do hope that the maintenance work will be done quickly”. Similarly, a bus driver Mr Emmanuel Felix who volunteered to speak on behalf of other drivers who ply Sapele Road Bypass Axis and the Benin –Sapele –Warri Road regularly said, “we hope with the inspection of the road by the Minister and this team, the contractor will do a good job and not their usual fake road works”. ...

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2025

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Jan

2020

My Candid Opinion Of Ministry Of Works And Housing In 2019

The year 2019 was a remarkable one for Federal Ministry of Works and Housing. During this year, Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN, was reappointed as the Minister For Works and Housing by the President Muhammadu Buhari after demerging the Ministry which in his first tenure included the Ministry for Power. No sooner had he resumed, he swung into action. This culminated into impressive accomplishments in terms of construction, rehabilitation, repair and maintenance of roads and bridges.

Among these accomplishments recorded in 2019 are the ongoing reconstruction works on major bridges, arterial roads and rehabilitation, which includes:

* Emergency Repairs of Existing Niger Bridge at Onitsha/Asaba; Owerri Dual Carriageway (close to Madonna) in Anambra State ; Construction of Ojutu Bridge on Erinle River, Ilobu,. Osun State.
* Emergency Repairs of Failed Section of Ijora - Apapa Flyover and Approach Road by Leventis in Lagos
* Reconstruction of Ohan & Moro bridges in Ilorin - Igbeti Road
* Emergency Repairs of Washout at Kwaita Bridge along Abuja - Lokoja Expressway
* Reconstruction of 3No. Insurgent damaged Bridges in the North East

In addition, another feat achieved by the ministry is the collaboration with the Federal Government in the expansive spending on Federal projects across the nation, which has not left any state in Nigeria today without a Federal Government visible road project. Recently , officials of the Ministry works , took a tour the erosion control project at the Ekpoma stretch of the dual carriageway from Obajana to Benin City.

It is also pertinent to note that the Ministry of Works and Housing with its critical stakeholders ; the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and some road contractors handling national projects, in one of the organizational sublime strides, prepared a document which contained the action plan to fix failed portions of federal highways and arterial roads in respect to the recently celebrated yuletide. The document contained 123 roads billed for rehabilitation or already undergoing repairs.

These rehabilitation projects cut across the 6 geo-political zones of the country. Among the roads billed for rehabilitation were the Abuja-Kaduna road at Km 4,5,15,16,18 and 30, Gombe-Biu, Wukari-Benue, Benin-Asaba, Benin-Sapele, Ibadan-Ogbomosho, Onitsha-Owerri dual carriage way to mention but a few.

In the Housing sector, the Ministry brought to the fore, the Pilot National Housing Programme. This has led to a nationwide Housing construction currently at various completion stages in 34 states of the Federation.

In addition, 1000 certificates of occupancy in respect of Federal Government landed properties nationwide were approved and signed and the beneficiaries were duly informed in four national newspapers; Thisday, Leadership, Nation and Daily Trust.

The Ministry is not resting on its oars in terms of effective delivery of its duties and mandates to the states as well as accountability to the people of Nigeria.

Okere Grace Onyinyechi
IT Student with Federal Ministry of Works and Housing

Speeches

Oct

2017

Remarks By Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN At The 20th Monthly Power Sector Operators Meeting Held In Owerri, Imo State

Once again it is my pleasure to chair this monthly meeting to review the progress we have made from our last monthly meeting in Lagos in September, and to collectively engage the challenges that lie ahead in our roadmap to incremental, stable and uninterrupted power.

At our meeting in September, we received reports of:
a.   The successful connection of power to Magboro, Ibafo and neighbouring communities in Ogun state who had not been connected for about 10 years.
b.   Provision of more meters to customers in Ijeshatedo, particularly on Ajijedidun Street, Adamolekun Street and Abiola Alao Streets where 196 out of 244 customers had been metered.
c.   We also got reports of the progress that has been made to restore power to 16 out of 36 communities in Ondo North (Akoko Communities) and the challenges in Okitipupa.

Another other piece of information that is worth sharing is the conviction of one Okechukwu Anoke by the Federal High Court Abakaliki and sentencing him to 3 years’ imprisonment for tampering with electricity fittings.

We welcome this judicial support to stop corruption in the power sector, enforce the law and promote liquidity in the sector. This comes on the heels of similar support from no less an office than that of the Chief Justice of Nigeria who has issued practice directions for the full enforcement of Arbitration clauses in power contracts so as to take such cases out of the tedium of regular trial and place them in the hands of commercially sensitive adjudicators.

On behalf of the entire sector we welcome the intervention in the Court of Appeal in the case involving the tariff review.

The order of the Trial Court which declared the tariff setting process illegal has been reversed and the case is now to be tried afresh.

Before I leave the issue of the critical role of the judiciary and law enforcement in the power sector, let me point out that the efficacy of the practice directions issued by the CJN for the strict enforcement of Arbitration clauses does not rest with the Judicial officers alone.

The Nigerian Bar Association has a pivotal role to play in ensuring that Arbitration clauses are enforced. This is because it is often the Lawyers, not the clients, that file and initiate processes that invoke the jurisdiction of the Court.

It seems to me that there might be something that potentially crosses the line of ethics which should arouse the interest of the Bar Association if one of its members fails to avail a client of his rights under an Arbitration agreement.

That said, I will proceed to inform members that in the last month, we have recovered 100MW from the damaged Afam IV Power Plant which was inoperative since January 2015.

Similarly, TCN has energized the Jebba-Kainji 2nd 330KV line and the 2nd Ajaokuta-Abuja 330KV line both of which were inoperative since 2015.

In the last month also, specifically on Wednesday 4th October 2017, the Federal Executive Council approved the verified sum of Federal Government MDA debts of N25.9Billion, and its payment by setting it off against the debts owed by the DisCos to NBET.

You will be receiving official communication of how these have been applied to reduce debts owed by DisCos to NBET.

We are also making promising progress in recovering debts due from international Customers and you will be notified of how much has been received when the appropriate accounts confirm that they have received value for the credits we have been notified of.

It is against this background that I now move to the challenges which we still have to overcome; the more pressing of which is how the DisCos can quickly increase their capacity to take power and distribute to the consumers.

I think that this is the issue that is captured in your letter of 27th September 2017 titled, ‘Federal Government of Nigeria’s Initiatives in the Electricity Sector and the Impact on Electricity Distribution Company Activities,’ which was addressed to NERC and copied to me.

Let me commend DisCos for the decision to channel their complaints to NERC by a jointly signed letter. This is a welcome departure from the previous order and it is to be encouraged.

The substance of Government initiatives which prompted that letter can be summarised as follows:

a.   Provision of meters to consumers through licensing of meter suppliers
b.   Provision of more power to consumers through licensing of eligible customers
c.   Provision of Independent dedicated Power to Universities
d.   Promotion of the deployment of more solar power through mini-grids
e.   Expansion of the Distribution Network of the DisCos so that they can take about additional 2,000 MW of power now available for supply

Without a doubt, the initiatives are targeted at improving service to the people. In your letter under reference copied to me, you expressed concerns about the impact of these initiatives on your businesses.

It is not my understanding that you oppose them, which is commendable.

It is my understanding that you fear that you will lose some income or some customers if Government proceeds; and on the question of meters, you seek to have technical compatibility with what the licencee will operate.

In respect of possible investment in Distribution equipment you seek that Government should route the investment through the DisCos.

Understandably you are concerned about investment recovery and in your views, the solution is a tariff review.

While your concerns about business viability, financial stability and cost recovery are well understood and indeed supported by the Electric Power Sector Perform Act of 2005 (EPSRA) which Government will respect; I must point out that Government’s focus is also strong on the issue of service to the people.

There must be a balance somewhere in the middle.

As far as the promotion of solar and other sources of independent power are concerned, please note that not only are they supported by the ESPRA, they are consistent with our Paris Climate Change Agreement Obligations and with emerging global practice.

DisCos have nothing to fear about solar. It is a space in which they are entitled to play but in which they cannot exclude others from playing.

The ESPRA did not contemplate a monopoly for any licensee unless it is expressly stated in the license.

As for channelling investment into Distribution assets through the DisCos, Government has not yet taken a position on what the best way forward will be.

However, Government is clear that a solution must be found quickly to the inability of DisCos to take about 2000 MW of power that will imminently increase as we get more incremental power.

But the point that must be made is for all of us to remember that, Government is a 40% shareholder of the DisCos (on behalf of the Federal, State, Local Governments and Workers) and therefore has a self-benefitting interest in the wellbeing and efficiency of the DisCos.

Most importantly, the concerns contained in the letter under reference can and will be managed through consultations which NERC has been undertaking to my knowledge. Consultations will help to build consensus about how best to serve customers, instead of festering gulfs of Disagreement.

At this preliminary stage therefore, you letter and concerns focus first on the business, while the Government initiatives focus more on service.

Consensus should give us both; the service and the business.

Still on the matter of DisCos, my attention has been brought to the fact that Yola DisCo has not been actively participating in the affairs of your association.

My position about your right and freedom to associate has been publicly stated and so is the right of the Government to associate or dissociate with you by lack of recognition or grant of recognition.

Because rights are not absolute and because they impose duties, all I need say is that we must respect the right of Yola DisCo to also choose whether it wants to associate or not. That is a duty we all have if we must enjoy the freedom and right to associate.

I will also want to report the successful holding of our National Council on Power, the 3rd in the series hosted by Plateau State who used the opportunity to present Rural Electrification Road Map to all of us.

I will like to thank Governor Simon Lalong for hosting us , and all of you for participating and urge that you follow up with the State Governments to assist you in enforcing the law against energy theft, right of way protection, metering of state government offices and buildings, the verification and prompt settlement of bills.

Finally, I would like to refocus our attention to the order signed by the NERC which reduced the timeline for making (New) Electricity connections from 145 days to 40 days.

While DisCos are also expected to comply and file reports of compliance to NERC and copied to my office, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has advised that the focal DisCos that will affect Nigeria’s ease of doing business rating will be Lagos, Ikeja, Kano and Kaduna because of the sample size that the population they serve represent.

Thank you for your attention.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Honourable Minister of Power, Works and Housing

Monday 9th October 2017