The Federal Government has said the President Bola Tinubu’s administration inherited about N14 trillion debt on road projects, 2,604 roads of 18,000 kilometres from ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, who disclosed while briefing State House correspondents after his maiden briefing session with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said: “The ministry inherited a total of 2,604 projects, worth N14tn and for 18,000 kilometres of road, that’s what we had.”
The Minister also revealed that President Tinubu and the Chairman/CEO of BUA Cement met and agreed on crashing the price of cement in the country.
Senator Umahi further disclosed that he sought the approval of the President to terminate some of the projects that have stayed up to 10 years without any defined source of funding.
He added that the Federal Government would redesign yet-to-be-completed road projects to concrete pavements, and the use of cement for roads is more reliable and cost-effective than the widely used bitumen, which can last for 50 years.
The Minister explained that since assuming office on August 21, his ministry has paid N4 trillion of the N14 trillion owed to contractors of various road projects nationwide. “Between when we came on board and now, about N4tn has been paid. And so that is a balance of N10tn remaining,” he said.
Senator Umahi, who is the immediate past governor of Ebonyi State, said road projects that have lingered for about two decades were never appropriated and, therefore, would have to be terminated at his behest.
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He said although the ministry has identified funding sources to offset N4 trillion of its outstanding debts to contractors, he noted that it still has a funding gap of N6 trillion.
He said: “Now, in this N10 trillion, we have defined sources that could fund up to N4 trillion. So, we have a funding gap of about N6 trillion. That is what is there now.
“We have a number of programmes for road development under the previous administration. We inherited all the projects; we have not dropped any of them. But curious to know that some of these projects have lasted for 20 years, some 10 years. In fact, in most cases, they were never appropriated throughout every tenure.
“So, I went to seek Mr. President’s nod so that I will be able to terminate some of the projects that have stayed up to 10 years without any defined source of funding. “
He lamented the current appropriation system for federal road projects, saying the piecemeal disbursement of funds to contractors is stymying delivery.
“I shared with Mr president that the way appropriation is being done is not healthy to develop our roads infrastructure. For example, for a road that may cost N10 billion, an appropriation of N150m is made.
“It is just for the contractor to take and put in his pockets because where the average cost of projects that we inherited is about N700 million per kilometre and you are given out N150 million for the whole year, then you are just enhancing the pockets of the contractor,” he said.
According to him, in his discussion with the President, he had urged him (Tinubu) to engage with the National Assembly to prioritise projects.
“Just look at over 2600 projects, 18,000 kilometres of roads, and N14 trillion. That is huge! And the worrisome part of this is that even the ones that are being funded properly, the roads hardly last up to five years,” he complained.
The short lifespan of roads, he said, necessitated his recent proposal to the President to redesign and construct yet-to-be-completed federal roads, using reinforced concrete. “So, I briefed Mr. President on what we are doing by introducing reinforced concrete technology for our road pavements,” he said.
Umahi, who is an engineer by profession, vowed to “fight” entities poised to frustrate this plan, saying: “I know that there are a lot of fights from contractors, but I’m David, I’m known for fight, and I will fight this because I’ve reported myself to Mr. President.”
Recall that while speaking in Akure on September 1, Senator Umahi said the Federal Government would redesign yet-to-be-completed road projects to concrete pavements, arguing that using cement for roads is more reliable and cost-effective than the widely used bitumen.
He insisted that it could last for 50 years. “We are sure that this is the way to go, and it has a guarantee of 50 years,” he said.
Despite pockets of opposition to the use of reinforced concrete, the Minister said he had received the President’s backing and would proceed with the plan.
“Incidentally, Mr. President is also an infrastructure guru. And he fully supports that we should use reinforced concrete for our road pavements.’’
“So, there is no other place you can report me other than to report me to God. So, Mr. President is supporting me that way. We’ll redesign our roads with reinforced concrete pavement,” he said.
