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“Strong foundations are poured in controversy, and cured in time.”
— Anonymous
By Enyeribe Ejiogu
Sometimes you have to eat your words, chew your ego, swallow your pride, and accept that you are wrong. These words are not original to this writer. The statement was taken from Google. But it is not easy to eat your words. For the past two weeks there have been lamentations in very high decibels. And it is about the horrible state of the Benin Bypass.
This is coming at a time when the Federal Government has loudly boasted about the humongous trillions it said it had invested in constructing new roads, as well as reconstructing and also maintaining existing roads.
Earlier this year, Umahi had raged at the former governor of Anambra State and 2027 Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr Peter Obi, for calling on the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to urgently repair the very important and economically strategic Benin Bypass.
Back then, Obi was on a visit to Edo State and his movement to a particular area in the state was impeded by the Benin Bypass gridlock. So he went to the epicentre of the problem to see things for himself. After assessing the deplorable situation, he empathised with the affected travellers, who were stuck in the miasma of government neglect and frustration. Naturally he commented on what he had observed and implored the Federal Government to do the needful.
Piqued by Obi’s statement, the minister challenged him to a debate on a national television station. The controversy dominated newspaper headlines and was discussed on radio/television talk shows all through the week. Soon, talk about the Benin Bypass took a back seat as Nigerians moved on while the road continued to deteriorate. But like an active volcano, the failed road did not cease to rumble. Travellers found themselves stuck in traffic for long hours, trucks got trapped in the ditches that portions of the road had turned into as the exposed earth held the tyres captive.
The daily agony of commuters and motorists soon made it to social media and newspapers as people shared the stories of their horrible experience. It was then that the federal government took notice and acknowledged the veracity of the advice it had received months earlier from Mr Obi.
On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, Senator David Umahi, stood at the same stretch of the terribly failed Benin Bypass and took responsibility for the failed road.
However, he should be commended for taking the advice of Mitt Romney who said: “Leadership is about taking responsibility, not making excuses.”
On that road, Umahi apologised to stranded motorists and commuters, saying: “I am very disappointed with the concessionaire, but I take full responsibility for the misdeed.” It was like the sound of music as he offered further explanation that the concessionaire removed over 30km of asphalt and abandoned the project, turning the road into a gridlock-causing death trap.
It is remarkable that he assured Nigerians of a solution and quickly announced tough actions. First, he ordered the immediate termination and revocation of the concession agreement for the Benin-Agbor-Asaba Expressway.
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“We cannot allow commuters and economic transport to be held hostage by incompetent contractors. The concessionaire has failed to deliver, and we are revoking the arrangement,” Umahi said.
Subsequently the Federal Ministry of Works took over direct supervision and emergency intervention in collaboration with the Niger Delta Development Commission as well as the Edo and Delta state governments.
Apparently to calm traumatised commuters and motorists, he added: “You can’t travel 100 kilometres on federal roads without encountering serious difficulties, but thanks to President Tinubu for his commitment to building roads that will last 50 to 100 years, not the short-lived projects of the past.
Umahi promised to ensure that the people experience relief within 24 to 48 hours, stressing that machinery and emergency grading teams would be deployed to clear broken-down vehicles and lay crushed stone near Benin Bypass to reopen traffic flow.
As Minister of Works, Umahi has faced considerable controversy. Perhaps the most outstanding one is the ruckus raised by people over the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in 2024. Many said the contract was awarded without proper bidding. The Lagos end from where the work commenced, witnessed the demolition of business concerns, including the Landmark Beach. Others mentioned the high cost of the project. Umahi defended it as a legacy project of the administration and said compensation was paid.
Umahi has insisted that all new federal roads must have rigid concrete pavement for durability. Some engineers pushed back, saying it’s more expensive and will kill the asphalt industry and cause loss of jobs. He put his foot down, arguing that the Dangote Group been constructing very durable roads using concrete.
Unperturbed, Umahi prefers to consider controversies associated with him as necessary pain for long-term gain, noting that his job is to deliver roads that last 50-100 years under Tinubu.
Despite those controversies, several major federal roads and bridges have been completed or commissioned under his supervision. They include the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos, which underwent full overhaul in 2024. It is an 11.8km dual lane, which was overlaid with new asphalt, solar lights, and CCTV. Lagos governor, Sanwo-Olu lauded the timely and quality completion of the project. Another is the Ekeobinagu Flyover, in Enugu, commissioned in May 2025. About 61 kilometres stretch of the Enugu–Port Harcourt Highway has been completed by the firm, CCECC.
And in the North-West, the second section of the Badagry-Sokoto to Kebbi Highway was completed, comprising 228 kilometres of three lanes. Another 120 kilometres stretch has already been completed in Sokoto.
The first 47.7 kilometres of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway Section 1 has reached 85 per cent, running from Ahmadu Bello Way to Lekki Deep Seaport.
In the Niger Delta, sections of the Benin-Sapele-Warri Road have been completed. About 23 kilometres of the section being executed by CBC Global is 75 per cent completed, while the 10 kilometres Section I Phase 2 by CCECC is 25 per cent completed.
Born on July 25 1963, Umahi studied Civil Engineering at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT). A former deputy governor and governor of Ebonyi State, Umahi, before his foray into politics, was CEO of Brass Engineering & Construction Nig. Ltd. He also co-founded the Norman Engineering and Construction Nig. Limited.
As governor, he carved a niche for himself with the massive infrastructural development of Ebonyi State accomplished by his administration, building roads, flyovers, malls, schools, hospitals and an airport, among many others.
