Federal Ministry of Works

Jun

2026

LATEST PRESS

UMAHI ISSUES STRONG WARNING TO NON-PERFORMING CONTRACTORS, SAYS TINUBU MUST NOT BE BLAMED FOR PROJECT DELAYS

The Honourable Minister of Works, Sen. Engr. David Umahi, CON, FNSE, FNATE, has issued a strong warning to contractors handling Federal Government road projects, urging them to fulfil their contractual obligations and eliminate the factors that give rise to unwarranted criticism of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.

Speaking during an extensive inspection tour of ongoing road and bridge projects in Kogi and Edo States, the Minister expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of work on some sections of the Abuja-Lokoja Dual Carriageway and the Dualisation of Obajana Junction -Benin Road. He disclosed that, due to funding constraints, the scope of one of the Sections of the Abuja-Lokoja road had to be reduced from 49.28 kilometres to 28 kilometres to concentrate available resources on the most critical portions.

"I am very sad with what I saw on the ground. What was reported to us is not reflected in the actual work being done," the Minister observed.

Engr. Umahi reiterated the Ministry's directive that no section of the Federal highway should remain closed for more than 14 days during construction. He subsequently issued an ultimatum to the affected contractor to complete the required section within the stipulated period or risk termination of the contract.

The Minister, however, commended Messrs JRB Construction Company for the quality and pace of work on its project, describing the company as a model of professionalism and commitment. According to him, "If everybody does his job accordingly, there will be no reason to shift the blame to Mr. President."

He also issued a 72-hour ultimatum to GELD Construction Company, handling one of the sections, to effectively utilise funds already released to demonstrate visible progress on the project.

According to the Minister, a substantial percentage of Nigeria's Federal road network had deteriorated before the advent of the present administration, stressing that President Tinubu inherited enormous infrastructure challenges but has continued to make significant strides to restore and modernise the nation's road sector.

He further directed the Federal Controllers of Works (FCW), Engineers’ Representatives (E.R.), and project supervisors to strengthen monitoring mechanisms and enforce greater accountability, insisting that all procurement processes and expenditures must be properly justified.

As part of the inspection tour, the Minister visited the reconstruction of the existing pavement and completion of the additional carriageway on Section III of the Abuja–Lokoja Dual Carriageway, including works being executed by Trucrete Solutions Limited on the Koton Karfe–Abuja alignment.

He also inspected two critical bridge projects along the same corridor, as well as the ongoing dualisation of the Lokoja–Benin Road. The projects inspected include Section I, Obajana Junction–Okene, and Section II covering the Okene–Auchi corridor across Kogi and Edo States.

The Minister further assessed progress on the flyover and interchange components of the project being executed by CCG Contractors, with the flyovers at approximately 80 percent completion and the interchange at about 30 percent.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, Senator Allwell Heacho Onyesoh, commended Engr. Umahi for his visionary leadership and firm commitment to ensuring value for public funds. He noted that political office holders can no longer continue to bear responsibility for the poor performance of contractors, stressing that Nigerians expect tangible results and timely project delivery.

Senator Onyesoh also appealed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Federal Ministry of Finance to ensure the timely release of funds for ongoing projects. He added that the Committee would reserve its final assessment pending the level of commitment and progress demonstrated by the contractors.

Similarly, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Works, Hon. Akin Alabi, called on all stakeholders to support the Ministry in delivering a quality road network across the country. He emphasised that road development is a collective responsibility and observed that President Tinubu has entrusted the Ministry with the critical task of ensuring efficient project execution.

Addressing contractors, Hon. Alabi assured them that the Federal Government remains committed to meeting all legitimate payment obligations, while commending JRB Construction Company for its significant investment and commitment to Nigeria's infrastructure development.

The Managing Director of GELD Construction Company, Mr. Fadi Azimi, assured the delegation that the company would intensify work and ensure improved project delivery, in line with the Ministry's expectations.

The Ministry reaffirmed its determination to address the challenge of non-performing contractors and reiterated its commitment to strengthening supervision, accountability, and the timely delivery of quality road and bridge infrastructure across the country.

Oct

2019

FG Partners UNIDO For Economic Diversification The Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde RAjib Fashola SAN stated that Nigeria would continue to partner with the United Nations International Development Organisation, (UNIDO) and its affiliates for its socio-economic development Fashola disclosed this today in Abuja when he received in audience the Representative of ECOWAS and Regional Director, Nigeria Regional Hub, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Jean Bakole and members of his team during a courtesy visit. The Minister reaffirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was committed to developing and renewing the infrastructural deficit of the country for efficiency, growth and development. However He also said that Mr. President was always ready to embrace any policy geared towards improving the nation’s infrastructure. Fashola however reiterated the commitment of the present administration to securing lives and properties growing the economy and tackling corruption all geared towards improving infrastructure and industrial development. The Minister charged UNIDO to assist Nigeria towards her match for industrialization either in the area of manufacturing, or Agro production, stressing that Federal Government’s commitment towards that direction was already yielding result as most of her agro- products were being exported to both Northern and Central African region. He also disclosed that there were existing fiscal policies in Nigeria to give relief to producers. Earlier, the leader of the UNIDO delegation, Jean Bakole stated that UNIDO had come to work with Nigeria and add value to its economy, pledging that UNIDO would give support in innovation, science and technology, research and development, agro business ,small and medium enterprises, minerals and metals and eco friendly environment. He also stated that UNIDO was ready to partner with investors in the area of building, construction trade and capacity development in Nigeria. ...

Oct

2019

Inadequate Funding, Responsible For Non Completion of Roads- FASHOLA The Honourable Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN has stated that thenumber of roads seeking government’s attention for completion and rehabilitation keeps increasing on daily basis while the resources required to fix them remained grossly inadequate. Fashola disclosed this in Abuja during an interactive session of the Senate Committee on Works with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and its agencies. The Minister maintained that it was the responsibility of his Ministry and its agencies to ensure that the roads in Nigeria were in good condition. He also noted that the inability to complete the various road projects across the country was as a result of inadequate budget and release of funds. While describing roads as national assets of any nation, Fashola called on all stakeholders in the Works Sector to come up with a hard decision on prioritization of roads for completion and rehabilitationon the basis of social and economic importanceto Nigerians. The Minister recommended the prioritization ofmajor link roads across the states and the roads to the various sea and airports across the country. The minister who was enthusiastic with the calibre of the Senators that constituted the Committee on Works whom he described ascapable and tested men of proven integrity, added that with their support, the challenges on Nigerian roads would be overcome. Earlier, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Senator Mohammed Adamu Aliero stated that members of his Committee would collaborate with the Executiveto do the needful in addressing the challenges in the works sector. As an option to address the funding challenge in the works sector, Senator Aliero, suggested sourcing for fund through local and foreign investors by concessioning some of our major roads.” I believe if we concession some major roads and get the contractors to construct those roads to international standards, they can recoup their investments within reasonable time by tolling the roads. This will gradually reduce government involvement in road construction and allow the ministry focus on being the regulator in line with what is obtainable in many countries in the world.” “I am very optimistic that the government of President Mohammadu Buhari and the 9th Senate will deliver roads of international standard to the people of Nigeria and in no distant time, they will notice qualitative transformation in the works industry,” the chairman added. Other members of the committee in attendance at the interactive session amongst others include, Senators Abdullahi Adamu, Ike Ekweremadu, Orji UzorKalu, Kashim Shetima, Kabiru Gaya and Danjuma Goje. On the minister’s entourage was: the Minister of State for Works and Housing, Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu, the Permanent Secretary, Mohammed Bukar and directors of the Ministry. ...

Oct

2019

2020 Budget Is Pro-People And Pro-State- Fashola The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr.BabatundeFashola SAN, has described the 2020 Budget as pro- people and pro-state saying it would drive development of the states andenhancethe well-being of the ordinary people. Speaking when the Chief Executive Officer of TVC Communications,Mr. Andrew Hanlon paid him a courtesy visit in his office, Mr.Fashola said that the budget is pro-state because 85 per cent of the VAT being raised is going back to the states (and local governments) to take care of salaries and infrastructure investment, while the remaining 15 per cent will go to the Federal Government for the development of infrastructure. Charging journalists and the general public to look more at the content of the Budget instead of the numbers, the Minister declared: “The budget presented yesterday, everybody is just looking at the numbers, and how many people are doing the analysis aside the number?” Adding that, “We focus more on developmental infrastructure; a completed road is a development drive, completed airport is also a development drive, these are the critical contents embedded in the budget not just the numbers.” He said that people should look at the clear statement of intent of the budget as pro-people budget of growing the economy, raising money and not hurting people through unfavourable tax regime. He described the 2020 budget as laudable and charged TVC Group and other media organisations to do critical analysis of the budget to enable them bring out the message to the general public. In his response, TVC Communications CEO, Mr Andrew Halon expressed the readiness of his organisation to partnerwith the Ministry in disseminatingquality news to the over seven Million viewers that watch their station on a daily basis. He added that the organisation has invested a lot of money in infrastructure and human capacity development to improve on their services and make their channel more attractive to viewers ...