Infrastructure: Umahi Says Buhari Owed N14trn; Minister Ready To Fight Contractors

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi has disclosed that the immediate past administration of Muhammadu Buhari owed a whopping N14 trillion to contractors.

The sum, according to the minister, is the debt owed to local and foreign contractors after constructing over 2,604 road projects spanning over 18,000 kilometers.

Umahi said the current administration has already paid N4 trillion to contractors leaving N10 trillion outstanding.

He made this known after paying a visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Aso Rock, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to him, the ministry inherited a total of 2,604 projects, worth N14tn and for 18,000 kilometers of road.

He explained that the government is searching for various sources of funding to settle the debt, including the Public Private Partnership, PPP, modality, adding that the slow release of funds has hampered road construction projects across the country.

The minister also hinted that some road projects that have dragged on for more than 20 years will be terminated, while new road projects will be approved for construction.

Umahi said: “Between when we came on board and now, about N4tn has been paid. And so that is a balance of N10tn remaining.

“Now, in this N10tn, we have defined sources that could fund up to N4tn. So, we have a funding gap of about N6tn. That is what is there now.

“We have a number of programs for road development under the previous administration. We inherited all the projects; we have not dropped any of them. But curious to know that some of these projects have lasted for 20 years, some 10 years. In fact, in most cases, they were never appropriated throughout every tenure.

“So I went to seek Mr. President’s nod so that I will be able to terminate some of the projects that have stayed up to 10 years without any defined source of funding.

“Just look at over 2600 projects, 18,000 kilometers of roads, and N14 trillion. That is huge! And the worrisome part of this is that even the ones that are being funded properly, the roads hardly last up to five years.

“So I briefed Mr. President on what we are doing by introducing reinforced concrete technology for our road pavements.

“I know that there are a lot of fights from contractors, but I’m David, I’m known for fight and I will fight this because I’ve reported myself to Mr. President.”