Ojudu Demands Answers Over Akure–Ado-Ekiti Dual Carriageway, Questions Fate of ₦96b Project
By KEMI KASUMU
“The people deserve to know what was awarded, what has been paid for, what has been delivered—and what became of the rest of the project,” Ojudu said.
Former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Muhammadu Buhari, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, has demanded explanations from the Federal Government over the reported abandonment of the second carriageway of the Akure–Ado-Ekiti Road project, for which about ₦95.98 billion was approved.
Ojudu, in a statement titled “What Happened to the Akure–Ado-Ekiti Dual Carriageway?”, expressed concern that despite the project being awarded and contractors mobilising to site, only one carriageway appeared to have been rehabilitated.
According to him, contractors initially cleared the alignment for the second carriageway and commenced construction of bridges and other structures designed to accommodate a dual carriageway.
He, however, said the heavy equipment had disappeared and construction sites had gone quiet, leaving behind bridges and earthworks prepared for a dual carriageway but only a single carriageway delivered.
Ojudu described the development as troubling, particularly given the history and financial value of the project.
He said the original contract, reportedly valued at about ₦30 billion, was awarded to Dantata & Sawoe in November 2019 but was later cancelled.
He added that on March 29, 2023, the Federal Executive Council approved the re-award of the project as a 50-kilometre dualisation project at approximately ₦95.98 billion.
According to him, the Akure–Ondo State boundary section was awarded to Samchase Nigeria Limited and Horizon Construction Company Limited for ₦46,684,481,745.44, with a 24-month completion period.
He said the section from the Ekiti boundary towards Ado-Ekiti was awarded to Kopek Construction Limited for ₦49,295,088,593.98, with a 30-month completion period.
The project was formally flagged off in May 2023.
Ojudu called on the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, to provide answers on the current status and scope of the project.
He specifically asked whether the original dual-carriageway contract had been revised to a single carriageway and, if so, who authorised the change, when it was approved and why the public was not informed.
He also demanded clarification on whether the contract sum had been reviewed, how much had been released to each contractor and why bridges and other structures designed for a dual carriageway were constructed if only one carriageway was ultimately intended.
Ojudu further questioned whether the contractors had formally withdrawn from the project sites or whether the disappearance of their equipment was temporary.
He also sought details of the percentage of work completed and when construction of the second carriageway would resume.
“Most importantly, will the Federal Government still deliver the dual carriageway for which nearly ₦96 billion was approved?” he asked.
Ojudu said the Akure–Ado-Ekiti Road was too important to the economic and social life of Ondo and Ekiti states to be allowed to disappear amid what he described as “abandoned contracts, altered specifications and official silence.”
He maintained that a refurbished single carriageway should not be quietly substituted for a dual carriageway without an explanation.
“The people deserve to know what was awarded, what has been paid for, what has been delivered—and what became of the rest of the project,” he said.
