A road closed for weeks strangles commerce and erodes confidence
In a country where roads have long served as both arteries of commerce and monuments to unfinished promises, Nigeria's Works Minister has set a new boundary: no contractor may hold a road hostage to construction for more than 14 days. The directive, issued during an inspection tour through Kogi and Edo States, reflects a government attempting to reconcile the slow machinery of public infrastructure with the daily urgency of millions who depend on those roads. It is a moment that reveals not only the tension between ambition and capacity, but also the rare willingness of an official to hold his own institution accountable alongside those it oversees.
- A 72-hour ultimatum has been handed to GELD Construction on the Abuja-Lokoja Expressway, where funds have been received but visible progress has not followed.
- Ministry staff face direct criticism from their own minister for lax supervision, arbitrary certificate issuance, and what he called the pampering of underperforming contractors.
- Budget shortfalls have already forced one road section to be scaled back from nearly 50 kilometres to 28, exposing the gap between infrastructure ambition and available funding.
- Activist Aisha Yesufu is pushing for legislation that would compel all levels of government to pay contractor invoices within 30 days, with interest penalties designed to make delay costly for the state.
- Some contractors, like JRB Construction, are being held up as models of professionalism, suggesting the standard exists — the question is whether it can be enforced across a sprawling, underfunded network.
Nigeria's Works Minister David Umahi has issued a firm directive: road contractors may not close off vehicular traffic for more than 14 days under any circumstances. The rule emerged during an inspection tour through Kogi and Edo States, where Umahi assessed ongoing work on several major expressways with a mixture of criticism and measured encouragement.
The 14-day limit came paired with a 72-hour ultimatum to GELD Construction Company, which has received payment for work on the Abuja-Lokoja Expressway but has yet to show sufficient progress. Umahi's message was unambiguous — prolonged road closures strangle commerce, frustrate commuters, and undermine public trust in government's capacity to deliver.
Umahi also directed his scrutiny inward, criticizing ministry officials for poor project supervision and for issuing completion certificates without proper justification. He argued that such failures had left both himself and President Tinubu exposed to public criticism and unable to defend their record before the National Assembly — a rare instance of institutional self-examination, even if it also served to shift blame downward.
Funding constraints continue to shape what is possible. One section of the Abuja-Lokoja dual carriageway was reduced in scope from 49 kilometres to 28 simply because resources were insufficient to complete the original plan. Umahi also called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company to pay contractors directly for projects it funds — a workaround that signals the federal government's finances are under significant pressure.
Activist Aisha Yesufu has proposed a legislative remedy: a law requiring all tiers of government to settle contractor invoices within 30 days of project completion, with any delay automatically accruing interest at the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Rate plus five percent. The intent is to end the practice of government treating contractors as an unofficial credit source — a habit that slows construction, reduces employment, and starves infrastructure of momentum.
Umahi commended JRB Construction for the quality and pace of its work, and reviewed progress on several other projects, including flyover and interchange components on the Lokoja-Benin Road that are 80 and 30 percent complete respectively. Acknowledging that the federal road network was in poor condition when the Tinubu administration took office, he framed the current push as a demonstration of genuine commitment — and suggested that if contractors and ministry staff each met their obligations, there would be no need to blame the president at all.
Nigeria's Works Minister David Umahi has drawn a hard line: road contractors cannot close off vehicular traffic for more than 14 days, no matter the circumstances. The directive came during an inspection tour through Kogi and Edo States, where Umahi surveyed ongoing work on several major expressways and found reasons to be both critical and cautiously optimistic about the state of the country's infrastructure.
The 14-day rule is not merely a suggestion. Umahi paired it with a 72-hour ultimatum to GELD Construction Company, which has already received funds for work on the Abuja-Lokoja Expressway. The company must now demonstrate visible progress or face consequences. The minister's message was clear: contractors need to move faster, and they need to do it within the bounds of what the public can tolerate. A road closed for weeks is a road that strangles commerce, delays commutes, and erodes confidence in government's ability to deliver.
But Umahi also turned his scrutiny inward. He criticized his own ministry staff for failing to supervise projects adequately, for issuing completion certificates without proper justification, and for what he called pampering contractors. These officials, he suggested, have left him and President Bola Tinubu vulnerable to public criticism and unable to defend their work before the National Assembly. It was a rare moment of institutional accountability, though it also served to deflect blame downward.
The funding picture remains constrained. One section of the Abuja-Lokoja dual carriageway had its scope reduced from 49.28 kilometres to 28 kilometres simply because there was not enough money to complete the original plan. Rather than spread resources thin across a longer stretch, officials chose to concentrate on the most critical portions. Umahi also called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to pay contractors directly for projects the company is funding, a workaround that suggests the federal government's purse is stretched thin.
Meanwhile, activist Aisha Yesufu has proposed a different kind of intervention. She is calling for legislation that would require all levels of government to pay contractor invoices within 30 days of project completion or service delivery. Any payment delayed beyond that window would automatically accrue interest at the Central Bank of Nigeria's Monetary Policy Rate plus an additional five percent. The logic is straightforward: delayed payments force contractors to absorb costs, which slows work, reduces job creation, and starves infrastructure development. By making late payment expensive for government, the law would discourage the practice of using contractors as an unofficial source of credit.
During his inspection, Umahi commended JRB Construction Company for the quality and pace of its work, holding it up as a model of professionalism. He also assessed progress on the Abuja-Lokoja Dual Carriageway's Section III, where Trucrete Solutions Limited is working on the Koton Karfe alignment, and reviewed the dualisation of the Lokoja-Benin Road across Kogi and Edo States. The flyover and interchange components of that project, executed by CCG Contractors, are roughly 80 percent and 30 percent complete, respectively.
Umahi acknowledged that Nigeria's federal road network was in poor condition when the Tinubu administration took office, but he framed the current push as evidence of commitment to repair. His underlying message to contractors and staff alike was that accountability flows both ways: contractors must meet their obligations, ministry staff must do their jobs, and if everyone performs as they should, there will be no need to blame the president. Whether that standard can be met across a sprawling network of projects, many of them underfunded and delayed, remains to be seen.
Notable Quotes
If everybody does his job accordingly, there will be no reason to shift the blame to Mr President.— Works Minister David Umahi
Delayed payments to contractors have continued to affect businesses, infrastructure development and job creation across the country.— Activist Aisha Yesufu
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does the 14-day limit matter so much? Why not just let contractors work at their own pace?
Because a closed road isn't just an inconvenience. It's a business dying, a patient not reaching a hospital, a supply chain breaking. Two weeks is the threshold between acceptable disruption and economic damage.
But if a contractor is underfunded or understaffed, how do you enforce a deadline that might be impossible?
That's the real tension. Umahi is pushing accountability downward—to contractors and his own staff—but the money problem sits above everyone. You can't build a road without cement and labor.
So why is Yesufu proposing a 30-day payment law? Doesn't that contradict the 14-day road closure rule?
Not really. She's trying to fix the root cause. If government paid on time, contractors wouldn't need to delay work or cut corners. The 14-day rule is a symptom response; her law targets the disease.
What does it say that Umahi is criticizing his own ministry staff so publicly?
It's both honest and self-protective. He's admitting there's rot in the system, but he's also saying the rot is below him, not with him. It's easier to blame bureaucrats than to admit the budget is broken.
Is there any sign things are actually improving?
JRB Construction is being held up as proof that it can be done right. But one good contractor among many doesn't mean the system works. It means there's a model to copy—if the money and will are there.