Buhari turns over unfinished road projects worth N974 billion

The Muhammadu Buhari administration left 38 unfinished road projects worth N979 billion to President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The projects were found by analysing the 2023 budget and comparing it to the national monitoring and assessment system, EYEMARK, which Buhari introduced in December of the previous year.

Several important road networks were only partially completed because of inadequate funding and other issues, despite the former President’s pledges that they would be finished by the end of his administration.

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The dualization of the Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia-Makurdi road in Nasarawa State and the expansion of the Abuja-Keffi dual carriageway are two crucial projects.

Other key projects that have yet to be completed include the Benue State Phase 1, Lafia bypass, and 9th mile (Enugu)-Otukpo-Makurdi Road in Enugu and Benue States Phase II which reportedly costs about N32.5bn.

Also on the list is the rehabilitation of the Ikorodu-Shagamu Road including the access road to Mosimi in Lagos State at the cost of N100m and the full scope development of Federal Capital Terriory Highway 105 (Kuje Road) from the airport expressway to the outer Southern Expressway with Spur at Kyami District valued at N54.95bn.

The dualization of Akure-Ado Ekiti Road in Ondo/Ekiti states was put at N90bn.

Other projects include the dualisation of Obajana Junction to Benin phase 2: Section 11 (Okene to Auchi) at the cost of N5bn.

Other unfinished road projects include the construction of Bichi township roads (N1.40bn); Dawakin Tofa-Gwarzo-Dayi Road in Kano (N2bn); 5.4km Abuja- Keffi Expressway and the 220km Keffi- Akwanga-Lafia- Makurdi federal roads in the North-Central geo-political zone of the country awarded for N166.36bn.

Others are the Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia road project valued at N101.1bn, the Chanchangi bridge along the Takum-Wukari road in Taraba State at the cost of N100m, dualisation of the Jattu-Fugar-Agenebode road and the reconstruction of Irekpa-Fugar-Agenebode road in Edo State at the cost of N250m.

Another project is the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which reportedly costs about N315bn and is currently handled by Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and RCC.

Speaking in an interview, the Director of Highways South-West, Adedamola Kuti, assured that all the outstanding projects would be completed.

He noted, “The way things are done in the federal civil service is quite different.

“You would agree that the previous government inherited uncompleted road projects and they completed some of them even as they initiated new ones, so if the new administration has taken over the uncompleted tasks, we will ensure that those projects are completed. We are working hard and no project will be abandoned.”