Umahi Orders Arrest of Contractor Over N14bn Benin-Onitsha Road Project

By Victor Idajili 

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, on Friday ordered the arrest of the Managing Director of Hartland Nigeria Limited for failing to complete a section of the Benin-Onitsha Expressway despite receiving about N14 billion from the Federal Government.

Umahi gave the directive during an inspection of the road, where he expressed frustration over the poor condition of the highway and the slow pace of work.

According to the minister, the government and Hartland had agreed that the N14 billion would be used to complete 11 kilometres from Summit Junction to the bridge, including drainage and hydraulic structures. 

But he said the contractor had only delivered about 40% of the agreed work.

“We paid them up to N14bn and when I paid them that money, we reached an agreement that we were going to finish 11 kilometres from the Summit Junction to this bridge with the money I am paying you, and then do channelisation and hydraulic structures,” Umahi said. 

“But today, they have just done about 40 per cent of the agreement. So, I recalled the MD to discuss with him for them to come back to site. I am going to look for him to arrest him.”

The minister instructed the ministry’s controller to locate the Hartland MD and effect the arrest. He also directed officials to pull all payment records and certificates for projects handled by the company.

Umahi said the ministry would move to recover the funds if the company fails to return to site and complete the job. He asked directors to immediately contact the banks involved to begin the process.

“I want the directors to call up the MPG immediately. You have to write to the banks to pay us that money. We are going to sanction Hartland. This is not acceptable,” he said.

He further ordered an assessment of both bridges on the affected stretch and about 1 kilometre of the road to identify urgent fixes that can ease traffic.

The minister blamed contractors’ negligence for the deteriorating state of parts of the expressway, saying simple interventions could have reduced hardship for motorists. He directed all federal controllers of works nationwide to ensure contractors maintain roads under construction, whether or not payments are outstanding.

“If a project is going on, whether there is payment or not, you cannot allow the situation of the road to be like this. It is your responsibility to at least insist for stone base to be used to fill these places,” Umahi stated.  
“I don’t want to see this kind of embarrassment again. Places where even N20,000, N50,000 or N100,000 can fix should not be allowed to worsen the suffering of the people.”

Umahi also ordered the arrest of anyone caught carrying out unauthorised dredging on roads under the ministry. 

“If you see anybody that is doing dredging, I don’t want to know who the person is. You have to cause an arrest immediately,” he said.

He directed another contractor, TCCCC, to urgently construct drainage channels along a bypass where construction has allegedly exposed nearby homes to erosion. Though the government has not paid the firm, Umahi said it must act to protect residents’ properties.

“If anybody complains of erosion in his house, we will hold them squarely responsible. In fact, I will arrest them. Let them immediately put the drainages on both sides of the road to control destruction of people’s houses,” he said.

The minister commended Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori for paying compensation to property owners affected by the project. He said the governor’s action showed concern for residents and the state’s economy, adding that prolonged gridlock on the corridor hurts commercial activities.

He also praised works officials in Anambra and Delta states and urged other controllers to be more proactive in supervising contractors.

The Benin-Onitsha Expressway links Edo, Delta and Anambra states and is a key route for the movement of goods and passengers across southern Nigeria’s major economic hubs.