Benin-Asaba Expressway: Nigerian Govt orders immediate review of road concessions

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has ordered a review of concession agreements on major roads nationwide, amid the worsening condition of the Benin-Asaba Expressway.

Umahi issued the order on Tuesday after inspecting the dilapidated highway, where road users were reported to have been stuck for some days due to the gridlock.

The minister said he was not satisfied with the Benin-Asaba Expressway Concession Company, BAECC, alleging that the firm lacked the technical competence to execute the project.

Umahi specifically slammed the concessionaire for removing existing asphalt on sections of the highway regardless of warnings from the Ministry of Works, attributing the situation of the road to the action.

He added that officials of the company could have faced arrest for destroying public property, noting that the road was not in its present condition when it was handed over to the concessionaire.

According to him, the government would sanction concessionaires whose activities put public infrastructure and road users at risk.

The minister further noted that the Federal Government would engage competent contractors to undertake emergency repairs and restore the affected sections to a motorable condition, while a stakeholders’ meeting would be convened to determine the way forward.

He, therefore, appealed for the understanding of commuters who had been stranded on the highway, saying President Bola Tinubu had directed the ministry to do everything possible to resolve the situation.

“The Federal Government is reviewing the process through which road concessions were awarded. The competence of concessionaires must be properly established before contracts are handed out.

“The Benin-Asaba Expressway was concessioned to BAECC in 2025 for reconstruction and expansion into a 10-lane highway,” he said.