The Federal Government on Tuesday warned contractors handling federal road projects against arbitrarily closing construction sites during the Yuletide.
It insisted that no section of any major highway should be shut without prior approval from the Federal Ministry of Works.
The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, who spoke during an interaction with contractors and senior officials, said that the terms of road contracts and established procedures require contractors to obtain ministerial clearance before closing any project site.
“You don’t just close and open sites at will. The Ministry must know if you intend to close any section. That is what the contract says and that is what the procedure says,” the minister stated.
He noted that some strategic highways are too critical to national mobility and economic activity to be closed under any circumstances.
According to him, roads such as Abuja–Kano, Ife–Ibadan, Sokoto–Zamfara–Katsina, Enugu–Onitsha, Enugu–Port Harcourt, and Lokoja–Abuja must remain open to traffic at all times.
“These are key national corridors. Abuja–Kano cannot close. Ife–Ibadan cannot close. Lokoja–Abuja cannot close. So no site will be closed without our permission,” he said.
The minister stated that the directive is aimed at preventing unnecessary hardship for road users, especially during peak travel periods, and ensuring better coordination between contractors and the government.
He further assured that the Ministry would closely monitor road projects across the country and work directly with contractors on-site to ensure compliance with safety standards and contractual obligations.
“This is very important. We will be with you on these roads to ensure that the right thing is done, because if you say that the suffering of the people is because of multiple sections of roadways, and there are some places where the roads are bad.
“But the point of it is, go and see the coastal highway. They even killed somebody there. They were driving one way. They killed somebody in that way. You see a traffic jam.
“But I’m telling you because some of those who criticise us should have been in that traffic jam so that they would be able to eat their words. Because they say they didn’t want it. And yet, this road that was rejected has become the street corners for them”, he said.
He continued: “I think there are some contractors that don’t have human feelings. In other cities, you can never disadvantage the public by working. We have to ask our engineers and directors to ensure that human feelings are respected while doing this work.
” You can’t just treat people any other way. It’s not the amount, it’s not the amount of equipment you need to support. If you are doing work anyway, the first assignment is to ensure that the traffic is great.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Works, Hon. Bello Muhammad Goronyo, said he will prevail on FERMA to continue maintaining roads, saying he will not commission solar lights whereas there are bad roads.
He said: “For FERMA, I think we are now going in a new direction. Because we really need to work hard. We have to leave our home for good and address the needs and aspirations of Nigeria. So, for FERMA, we are also going through a new dawn, a new era. Wherever we are going, we are going to be rough and rigorous for this and a much longer process.
“Time is not on our side. We cannot continue to stay in our home for good and issue instructions. We have to work with people. Nigerians are tired of excuses. And FERMA right now, they are supposed to help us out with the responsibility of maintaining the roads. It’s time to start working on the roads. We must describe the problems. We must create innovative solutions.
“We will show them. We have time for all of them. This time around, I will not go back to commissioning solar lights. I will not go back. I will continue to commission roads maintained by FERMA. Nigerians will be proud, will be happy, that Mr President is working. He will show that he is the best one.”
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