Presidency blames contractors for failure of Benin-Agbor-Asaba Expressway

The Presidency has blamed contractors for the poor state of
the Benin-Agbor-Asaba Expressway, where commuters were reported to have been
stuck for several days.

 

Speaking on Channels Television on Wednesday, the Special
Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare,
blamed the failure of the road on the contractors handling the ongoing work on
the road.

Dare noted that the Federal Government responded swiftly to
the public outcry by deploying key stakeholders to the affected section and
demanding immediate action from the contractor.

According to him, the incident should not be used to assess
the state of road projects across the country, stressing that several other
federal roads had been completed or were progressing without similar
complaints.

The president’s spokesman further said that the government
had a responsibility to identify roads requiring repairs and provide funding,
while contractors were expected to execute the projects properly.

“I think that first, these are isolated cases. And we all
know by the nature of road construction, during the rainy season, you encounter
problems like this.

“Whatever played out yesterday, we had all the stakeholders
there. And it’s important that even though the contractor came out, even though
he gave excuses, it showed a failure on their part,” Dare said.

Dare’s remark came barely 24 hours after the Minister of
Works, David Umahi, inspected the troubled Benin-Agbor-Asaba road in Edo State
and apologised to commuters over its condition.

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