Mr David Umahi has defended his performance as the Minister of Works following accusation of underperformance by House of Representatives member and chairman of the House Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Rep. Remi Oseni.
Citing an 85 percent improvement in road projects nationwide, Mr Umahi at a news conference in Abuja on Monday, said he inherited 2,604 projects with a total cost of N13 trillion and a debt of N1.6 trillion to contractors as of May 29, 2023.
The minister said that considering variations due to subsidy removal and dollar fluctuations, the total project cost now exceeded N19 trillion.
Mr Umahi, however, said there were notable improvements in the Northwest, such as the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road, and completion of roads in states like Zamfara, Lagos, and regions like South-South and South-West.
Mr Umahi explained that some projects, that were ongoing for the past 17 to 20 years, cannot be completed overnight.
He acknowledged that preparation time for pavement, asphalt, and other materials was often overlooked in assessing road construction success.
Recall that the Daily Patriot had reported how Mr Oseni had berated minister Umahi during a panel of the House Committee on FERMA over the deplorable state of most of the roads across the country.
(NAN)
