Umahi Blasts House C’ttee Chair, Says FG Needs N19tn to Fix Ongoing Road Projects

* Ohanaeze defends minister, insists he has delivered on road Infrastructure

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, yesterday responded to the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Remi Oseni, accusing the lawmaker of being the mouthpiece of contactors opposed to the reforms going on in the ministry.

Umahi further stated that the federal would need about N19 trillion to fix Nigerian roads, but said that President Bola Tinubu was giving priority attention to funding the repair of the roads nationwide.

Oseni had in October chided the representative from FERMA during an interactive session, saying the minister failed to address the poor condition of roads in Nigeria. He argued that Umahi’s claim of lacking resources was unfounded.

“You are not here to tell us what we already know in the area of resources. So, if you are telling us the reason you have failed in fixing our road infrastructure is because of resources, don’t let me take you up on that because you concentrated your energy as a minister on less priority issues,” Oseni had accused the official.

But the minister stated that he wasn’t personally at the house of reps event,  stating that out of respect for the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abass he won’t be harsh on the committee chair.

Umahi stressed that contrary to the position of the lawmaker, he had never failed in his life, pointing out that the lawmaker should endeavour to check his pedigree whether as a private person or in his public life.

Addressing journalists in his office in Abuja , Umahi said Oseni had not attained half of what he achieved in life, but noted that he would not join issues with the lawmaker out of the respect he has for the Speaker of House of Representatives and the National Assembly.

“Let me say that I was not physically present, nor my permanent secretary, because nobody can talk to me like that in my presence. It’s not possible. Number two, it was to discuss the budget 2025 of FERMA, and it went into the job of Senate Committee and House Committee of Works, and it’s very unfortunate.

“And from what he gathered, he thought possibly working with some contractors who are not happy with the reform in the Ministry of Works, he thought I was going to be removed. And so his anger is, why was I not removed?

“ Because that’s the basic reason to have veered off totally from the issues he called for discussion. And his type is very damaging to the very wonderful institution of the National Assembly, especially the 10th National Assembly,” Umahi said.

As of May 29, 2023, the minister noted that the total cost of ongoing projects was N13 trillion and a debt to contractors of N1.6 trillion.

“And when you look at the variation by reason of the subsidy removal, by the reason of the floating of the dollar, you’ll find out that if you review all these projects, you will see that you will get over N19 trillion, the total ongoing projects.

“And Mr. President did what no other president did. He manifested all the projects in 2024 budget with the hope to give him time to look for resources, including loans to do these projects,” he added.

He explained that he was not at the House meeting, noting that there is no way he was going to complain of resources to fix roads because the president has given very special attention to ministry of works.

“He has paid so much attention to the sufferings of Nigerians vis-a-vis the road situation. And that’s why in 2023 supplementary, he approved N300 billion to take care of a number of palliatives,” Umahi added.

He argued that there was no way one expects some project that lasted about 20 years to be completed in one year, urging the minister to first understand the processes that are involved in works ministry’s projects.

“If there is something we are successfully doing, it’s to ensure that when a project is awarded, we go through the sites. The directors from time to time are sent to the field apart from the controllers. I move around the geopolitical zones, examine projects, talking to contractors, pushing contractors.

“We’ve terminated over 10 projects following due process. Some of them have lasted 17 years, 18 years. And so, we are doing very well”, Umahi added.

Stressing that there is no amount of resources that can fix 2,604 projects in one year, he explained that President Bola Tinubu has done a lot in improving  road infrastructure.

He reiterated that if by Wednesday, Julius Berger is not back to site, the ministry will issue notice of termination, and we will do selective tendering and get no less than three contractors.

On the Sokoto-Funtua-Kaduna route, he said that it is being done by three contractors, noting that expatriates have been killed while contractors and  workers have been abducted, over 50 of them, on the road.

That notwithstanding, through the help of the president, he said the National Security Adviser (NSA)  had been directed  to ensure the safety of workers in the area.

Mentioning several ongoing projects, he stated that under very challenging conditions, the federal government was doing everything possible to maintain the roads.

“But these things cannot be done overnight. The Minister of Works is not the only minister in this country. Mr. President has a lot of other challenging situations. The parliament is doing great in agriculture, in our energy, in our education, in our health, but he has given priority attention to the Minister of Works. And he should be commended for what he’s doing. And the ministry should be commended.

“It’s very unfortunate that a lot of contractors, who by right are not supposed to be contractors, are going up and down, inducing people to be talking anyhow. If you have issues with Minister of Works, engage us, even publicly,” the minister said.

Also, yesterday, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo  maintained that the Minister of Works, Umahi, has shown enormous capacity to fixing deplorable roads infrastructure across the country.

In a statement issued by the Secretary General of the body, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Ohanaeze defended Umahi, noting with dismay that the accusations were just campaign of calumny against the minister.

According to Ohanaeze: “It is imperative to state unequivocally that these allegations, which purport that Umahi has failed to address the deteriorating state of roads across the nation and is merely engaged in the awarding of contracts, are nothing short of calumnious and deeply irresponsible”.

“Oseni’s remarks, lacking in both substantive evidence and intellectual rigour, have caused deep concern within the corridors of reason and fairness”.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo called on all members of the House of Representatives to engage with the Minister of Works with the respect and dignity his office warrants, facilitating meaningful dialogue that can address any concerns without recourse to empty accusations

“It is crucial to highlight that a thorough investigation and an assessment of the real-world initiatives undertaken by Senator Umahi in his capacity as Minister have not only been overlooked but grossly misrepresented.

“Under Senator Umahi’s stewardship, significant strides have been made in enhancing the quality of road infrastructure across the country. His unwavering commitment to addressing the endemic problem of bad roads is evident in the tangible improvements that have been achieved, despite the constraints of budgetary allocations”, the apex Igbo body said

Isiguzoro specifically told the lawmaker to exercise a level of decorum befitting his office, and to refrain from further disseminating unfounded detractions against the minister.

He further implored him to join Umahi on a tour of the ongoing projects nationwide as it would grant him valuable insights into the minister’s strategic approach to road rehabilitation and improvement.