The Federal Government has temporarily suspended reconstruction work on the Ibadan-Ife-Ilesa Road and directed the contractor handling the project to review the pavement mixture specifications being used before resuming construction.
The directive was issued on Sunday by the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, during an inspection of the Osun State section of the ongoing road reconstruction project.
Umahi, who toured the project alongside federal lawmakers and other stakeholders, instructed the contractor, CBC Global Civil and Building Construction Nigeria Ltd., to visit another project site to study the pavement mixture being applied there and adopt the appropriate standards before continuing work.
“Go and check that mixture and then resume your work,” the minister told the contractor.
He further directed the company to slow down work on the carriageway and immediately establish two separate teams dedicated to constructing the inner and outer shoulders of the road, stressing that the shoulder sections are critical to the integrity of the project.
The minister warned that failure to complete the project within the approved timeframe could lead to sanctions against officials responsible for overseeing the work.
“If this project is not delivered as scheduled, I will withdraw the Controller of Works supervising it in Osun State,” Umahi said, noting that he had previously redeployed several controllers in other states due to performance concerns.
According to him, underperforming officials would be reassigned for additional training before being returned to project sites.
“I am going to make a classroom in my ministry and bring professionals into the classroom. Those I am removing from sites are going to be learning every day. When you pass, we deploy you back to site,” he said.
Umahi also questioned the approval of a N2.8 billion palliative works certificate issued to the contractor, saying he had not seen evidence of the work for which payment had been recommended.
“I am on these roads and I have not seen where the palliative was done, but you already gave a palliative certificate of N2.8 billion,” he said.
The minister directed the Controller of Works to withdraw the certificate within 24 hours and instructed the contractor to properly execute the palliative works, including milling failed and cracked portions of the road and applying binder materials to affected sections.
“I don’t want to see any pothole, and the agreement is that you will mill all the failed and cracked sections,” Umahi stated.
He added that future working relationships with contractors would be determined strictly by performance and adherence to standards.
“We have to take responsibility for what the public has asked us to do,” he said.
The minister also ordered the immediate removal of heavy-duty trucks parked on newly constructed concrete sections of the highway, warning that prolonged parking could weaken the pavement structure and lead to future failures.
“The moment you have those things parked, it generates internal stress on the concrete. You will not see it immediately, but that is the failure of the concrete,” he explained.
In addition, Umahi directed contractors handling solar streetlight installations along the road corridor to suspend work until the construction of road shoulders is completed.
“Solar lights must be done when we are done. You can’t effectively do the solar lights on the shoulders until you have done the shoulders,” he said.
Despite expressing concerns over aspects of the project, the minister commended CBC Global Civil and Building Construction Nigeria Ltd. for maintaining work on the road despite delays in government payments.
According to him, the contractor is handling a 108-kilometre stretch of the highway and has completed approximately 70 kilometres of work.
“We have not paid them. They are working on 108 kilometres. They have done about 70 kilometres, and they do about one kilometre per day,” Umahi said.
The Ibadan-Ife-Ilesa Road is a major transport corridor linking Oyo, Osun and other parts of the South-West, and its reconstruction is expected to improve mobility, reduce travel time and enhance economic activities in the region.
