Posted by The Minister of Works, David Umahi, stated that the Federal Government would prefer to employ concrete technology for federal highways, however the Peoples Democratic Party’s chapter in Ebonyi State has criticized this.
The party added that Umahi’s use of direct labor for road development while governor of Ebonyi State had not produced the expected results.
In his first news conference, Umahi recently stated that contractors who choose asphalt over concrete must provide a guarantee that the road would last, pointing out that concrete roads last for 50 years.
“We are saying to all contractors that they have two options,” he said. Option number one: You must start building our roads in accordance with the design, which means that if their shelf life is 30 years, you must make sure they do so and provide us with compensation. Without any justification, if you have already committed to using asphalt, you must likewise commit to keeping the roads durable.
“Nobody will be forced to build concrete roads; my personal belief is that Nigerians must receive value for their taxes and that we must lessen their suffering.”
11 federal road projects are still in progress in Abia, according to Umahi Tribunal dismissals. Sen. Suswam of the PDP is declared the winner by the Benue APC.
Atiku and Obi are praised by the APC for taking Tinubu to court.
In the meantime, the minister’s promise that the concrete roads he built in Ebonyi State would survive for 50 years was a lie, according to the state’s PDP publicity secretary, Chika Nwoba.
We from Ebonyi State are firsthand witnesses to how Engr. David Umahi managed the works sector during his eight years as governor of the state of Ebonyi. There is no doubt that he has some experience in construction engineering.
“Hunger ruled supreme in Ebonyi State during his administration as governor. His projects deteriorate shortly before and after he leaves office. The collapse of certain buildings inside the Abakaliki International Market, whose construction he personally oversaw, was one of the surprising failures noted on his self-supervised projects.
“The residents and citizens of Ebonyi were surprised when the structures entirely collapsed. They were shocked to learn that the governor had boasted that his direct labor projects would endure for up to 50 years. To convince him not to use direct labor and concrete pavement technology in all the construction projects his ministry would undertake, it will take the National Assembly or the President (Bola Tinubu) himself.