Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has stated that President Bola Tinubu would allot cash for the construction of high-quality roads.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily on Channels Television, Umahi acknowledged that the major problem with road development is the expense of building.
“We are looking at all these things. How do we cut down costs? Because the primary issue is also the cost of construction,” he said on Thursday.
“We are looking at the figures but, it looks like a lot of contractors are not willing, but I will make them to make the change – we are all engineers.
“I am telling them your profit, I will protect whatever thing you want to make but, let’s help Nigeria, let’s build a road that will last and the funny thing is that the government – the President will give out the money,” the former Ebonyi State governor added.
He regretted, though, that concrete is more expensive than asphalt.
The works minister claims that the bitumen imported and readily available in Nigeria today does not meet the standards of 1950 and 1960.
After being sworn in on Monday, the minister immediately got to work on Wednesday, promising to revamp the Lokoja-Ajaokuta Road within two weeks. He declared that the road’s repair will start right now.
