Federal Ministry of Works

Jul

2026

LATEST PRESS

UMAHI, EKITI GOVERNOR DISCUSSES STRATEGIC ROAD SECTOR DEVELOPMENT

The Honourable Minister of Works, David Nweze Umahi, CON, FNSE, FNATE, has restated the Federal Government's commitment to equitable infrastructure development across Nigeria, adding that the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, is ensuring that no state is left behind in the delivery of road and bridge projects. He also attributed the overwhelming support for the ruling party to the visible achievements of President Tinubu's administration, particularly in the area of infrastructure development.
He noted that the President has demonstrated fairness in the distribution of road projects across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, stressing that communities that had previously gotten little or no Federal Government road intervention are now benefiting.

The Minister recalled that during his eight-year tenure as Governor of Ebonyi State, there were no significant federal road projects in the state, adding that similar situations existed in Ekiti and several other states. He commended President Tinubu for changing the narrative through his inclusive approach to nationalist development.

Engr. Umahi assured the Governor that all subsisting contracts in Ekiti State would be executed strictly in accordance with engineering principles and measurements, emphasising that contractors were selected transparently, in line with the Public Procurement Act. He further asserted that the Ekiti State Government would be kept fully informed to enable effective monitoring of project implementation.

He further reaffirmed the Ministry's commitment to delivering durable and high-quality road infrastructure that will enhance economic activities, improve connectivity, and support the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu.

Speaking earlier, the Governor of Ekiti State expressed profound appreciation to President Tinubu and the Honourable Minister for the numerous road infrastructure interventions in the State. He recalled that following his appeal to the President, through the Honourable Minister, approval was granted for the reconstruction of the Ado–Iyin–Aramoko road, a project that had remained uncompleted for several years despite repeated promises by successive administrations. He noted that contractors were mobilised to the site within weeks of the approval, demonstrating the President's commitment to prompt project execution.

Governor Oyebanji also stated that the swift commencement of the project generated widespread appreciation among the people of Ekiti State and strengthened public confidence in the Federal Government's commitment to infrastructure development.
He also thanked President Tinubu for approving the construction of the Ado–Ijan–Ikole Road, describing it as another strategic route that will significantly improve transportation and economic activities within the State and beyond.

The Governor disclosed that, since the creation of Ekiti State nearly three decades ago, no administration has demonstrated such a remarkable level of commitment to the state's infrastructure development as the current one. According to him, the people of Ekiti now have a renewed sense of belonging as a result of the Federal Government's numerous interventions in roads and other critical sectors.
Oyebanji described his visit to the Ministry as one of appreciation, conveying the gratitude of the people of Ekiti State to the President and the Honourable Minister for their dedication to improving the nation's road landscape.

The meeting further underscored the strong collaboration between the Federal Government and Ekiti State Government in advancing infrastructure development for the benefit of citizens and national economic growth.

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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PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

Nov

2025

OTHER NEWS

Aug

2018

Remarks By The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry Of Power, Works And Housing, (Works And Housing Sector), Mohammed Bukar, At The 24th National Council Meeting On Works, Held In Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State

Protocols,

I am pleased to welcome you to the 24th Meeting of the National Council on Works holding in Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State.

2. As you are aware, the theme of this year’s National Council Meeting is “Ensuring Value-for-Money in Nigerian Highways Development”. The theme is apt and timely, considering our collective resolve to address the challenges in road development in the country within available resources.

3. In order to ensure that this target is achieved, it has become necessary for all the critical stakeholders to consider and provide contemporary policies that will support the attainment of the above target.

4. It is quite instructive that the theme was carefully chosen to ensure prudent spending of available financial resources in Highways development in the country due to the huge investment governments at all levels are making in road development.

5. The Meeting is significant as it will afford us the desired opportunities to identify challenges in the highways sector and develop strategies towards addressing them. We are therefore, expected to explore various realistic means of proper utilization of funds and other resources meant for road projects, to enable quick service delivery, which in turn will fast-track national growth and sustainability. May I also stress on the need to ensure that all our recommendations align with the objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of 2017-2019 which focuses on restoring economic growth, ease of doing business, investing in our people and creating a competitive economy. The achievement of these objectives largely lies on the availability of good road network across the country.

6. Distinguished delegates and officials, the timing of this meeting therefore, is very significant as it affords us the opportunity to think through and make necessary provisions in our various Budgets for the year 2019 and beyond as well as take necessary steps that will ensure money spent on roads impacts on the Nigerian economy, positively.

7. On this note, I once again welcome you all and wish you fruitful deliberations.

8. Thank you.

Speeches

May

2017

Remarks By Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN At The Inauguration Of The Board Of The Rural Electrification

Although today is only scheduled for the inauguration of the reconstituted board of the Rural Electrification Agency, I feel obliged to make a few comments that I believe shed some light on the plan of the Buhari Administration on our understanding of the purpose and role of this agency.

Before I do so, let me express the gratitude of the Federal Government of Nigeria to the immediate past acting Managing Director and his team and all those who have served in this agency since its inception, for their service and contribution.

It is my expectation that the new team will be able to build on whatever you have left behind, improve on it and ultimately achieve the purpose for which this agency was set up, which is to provide access to electricity for millions of Nigerians who are yet to be connected to the grid.

Although it is called a 'Rural' Electrification Agency, there are many urban and suburban communities that still lack access to power because they have not been connected to the national grid.

Part of the reason for this lack of access is that the 330/132 KV and 132/33 KV lines (popularly called the high-tension wires), by which this connection is often made, run over long distances covering several hundreds of kilometers.

The cost of extending these lines to communities is expensive and where the population in such communities is not large, the price of their electricity will be high because it will be borne by a few people.

Because public tariff is fixed, investments in these lines are not considered attractive and it is easy to pass over these communities or simply attempt grid extensions which have not covered the field and have resulted in many people being left behind.

All of this is about to change and that is why we are here. REA is the champion of these unconnected communities, who have have been left unserved. REA will bring them to mainstream of electricity connectivity by providing and promoting off grid connections.

Let me point out that when the Electricity Sector Reform Act was passed in 2005, it set up the Rural Electrification Agency and mandated that the Rural Electrification Implementation plan should be prepared (within a year) for Presidential Approval.

It is that plan that will set out how to reach the unconnected communities that I spoke about, through a combination of grid extension and development of independent grids, using new technology such as solar, which will mitigate the cost of the long 330/132 KV and 132/33 KV lines which I spoke about.

Unfortunately, nothing was done between 2005 and 2016 about the Rural Electrification Implementation program until 2016 when President Buhari approved this plan. That was a period of inaction of 11 (ELEVEN) years.

Thankfully, all that is behind us. We must look to tomorrow and the promise of increased access to electricity that President Buhari’s approval heralds.

The anchors for implementing Rural Access are:

A. Completion of over 2000 Grid extension projects that started life as constituency projects since 1999 but have now either been abandoned or uncompleted;

B. Resuscitation of 6 (SIX) small Hydro dams and activation of their power component, which have received Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval, have been advertised, and we have received Expressions of Interest which we are evaluating.

C. Development of Independent Power Plants in 37 (THIRTY-SEVEN) federal universities and seven teaching hospitals in rural areas and the building of independent power grids from there to connect adjoining rural and unconnected communities.

Most of these IPPs, at least 27 (TWENTY-SEVEN), will be solar powered and this is the heart of the matter.

This is because President Buhari understands the increasing emergence of renewable energy sources, like solar power from the fringes of the energy debate to the mainstream.

This is why he was one of the first leaders to append his signature on behalf of Nigeria to the Paris agreement.

Most importantly he understands the appeal of renewables generally and Solar in particular to the global youth population and Nigeria's youth.

He understands how impactful a small solar plant can be to a barber, hairdresser, small food processing plant and small businesses generally where our youth are participating in making their contribution to our national development.

He understands and appreciates the role that young people played in building the nation and driving the economy.

This is why he has appointed young people to the leadership and management of this agency, to deliver not only on the promise of their generation but also on the expectation of millions of unconnected people who are living without electricity.

This is why he has constituted a Board of Experience and Youth in this critical agency.

I hope and expect that all of us will rally round and support this new team to deliver on their mandate.

On behalf of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, I promise our fullest support.

It is therefore with pleasure that I formally inaugurate the Board of the Rural Electrification Agency and wish them success in the implementation of the Rural Implementation program.

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