Oborevwori Hails NDDC As Reconstruction Begins On Failed Benin-Sapele Highway

By BLESSING AGWE ODUGO

NDDC Intervention Targets Major Economic Corridor

DELTA State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, has commended the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, for commencing the reconstruction of a major failed section of the Benin-Sapele Expressway, describing the intervention as an important step towards improving connectivity, easing transportation difficulties and stimulating economic activities.

The project covers approximately 15.4 kilometres of the highway, which has remained a source of hardship for motorists, commuters and businesses operating along the strategic corridor.

Oborevwori gave the commendation on Friday during the flag-off of the reconstruction project at Amukpe Roundabout in Sapele.

The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Works, Rural Roads and Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, said the project demonstrated the importance of cooperation among government institutions in addressing infrastructure challenges affecting the Niger Delta.

Delta Highlights Investments in Federal Roads

Aniagwu said the Delta State Government had repeatedly intervened on federal roads because the condition of such infrastructure directly affected the lives and economic activities of Deltans.

According to him, the state government had chosen not to allow questions of jurisdiction to prevent interventions where residents continued to experience hardship.

He said Delta had constructed more than five kilometres of rigid-pavement dual carriageway along the Warri axis, while also undertaking major projects on federal road corridors.

Such interventions, he noted, included bridges and flyovers at Otovwodo Junction, DSC Roundabout, PTI Junction, Enerhen Roundabout and Uromi Junction in Agbor.

“We don’t differentiate,” Aniagwu said, stressing that the state government’s primary concern was the welfare of residents and road users.

He disclosed that the state had spent more than ₦300 billion intervening on federal road corridors to improve their condition and reduce the difficulties faced by motorists.

Aniagwu described the NDDC’s decision to reconstruct the failed section of the Benin-Sapele Expressway as a welcome development, saying the project would strengthen transportation and commercial links across Delta and neighbouring states.

A Strategic Road for the Niger Delta Economy

The Benin-Sapele Expressway serves as one of the important transportation routes linking communities and commercial centres across the South-South and other parts of the country.

Years of deterioration along some sections of the highway have resulted in prolonged travel times, vehicle damage and additional transportation costs.

The NDDC Governing Board Chairman, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, said the commission commenced the intervention following a directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to address the hardship experienced by road users.

Ebie said the commission was determined to ensure the completion of the reconstruction and provide relief to commuters who had endured difficult travelling conditions along the corridor.

He disclosed that the commission would deploy two contractors to work from opposite ends of the project in order to accelerate construction.

According to him, the Benin-Sapele corridor goes beyond its importance to Delta State, serving as a strategic national economic route connecting the South-South with other regions of Nigeria.

Two Contractors to Accelerate Reconstruction

Providing details of the project, the NDDC Executive Director, Projects, Engr. Victor Antai, said the reconstruction covered about 15.4 kilometres of the failed highway.

He said the project would be executed with rigid concrete pavement, a construction approach expected to provide greater durability on the heavily used corridor.

Antai disclosed that China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CCECC, and Ronin and Fan Limited had been engaged to execute the reconstruction.

The deployment of two contractors, stakeholders said, is expected to reduce construction time and allow work to progress simultaneously from different sections of the project.

NDDC Apologises Over Years of Road Users’ Hardship

NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, apologised to residents, community leaders and commuters over the hardship caused by the deteriorated condition of the road.

He assured motorists and residents that the reconstruction would bring relief.

According to Ogbuku, the intervention followed the attention drawn to the road’s condition through videos and complaints that eventually reached President Tinubu.

He said the NDDC subsequently engaged the Federal Ministry of Works, obtained the necessary project design and secured approval for the commission to intervene on the affected section.

Ogbuku said the strategic importance of the highway made immediate action necessary.

The road, he explained, serves as a major route connecting the South-West and parts of northern Nigeria with the South-South region.

Calls for Wider Intervention Across Delta

The Delta State representative on the NDDC Governing Board, Hon. Monday Igbuya, commended the commission for approving the reconstruction.

He, however, appealed for further interventions on other important roads across the state, including the Amukpe-Abraka-Agbor Road and the Sapele-Warri Road.

Ebie also disclosed that the NDDC had taken steps to terminate and re-award the contract for the Abraka-Obiaruku-Abavo-Agbor Road following difficulties encountered with the previous contractor.

The development signals a broader effort to address stalled or poorly executed infrastructure projects within the commission’s intervention areas.

Oborevwori Calls for Protection of Public Infrastructure

Aniagwu urged residents and communities to cooperate with the contractors to ensure the smooth execution and timely completion of the Benin-Sapele reconstruction project.

He also warned against vandalism of public infrastructure.

The commissioner referred to the recent discovery of damaged components on the First Niger Bridge, stressing that the removal of critical materials from public facilities could threaten their structural integrity and endanger lives.

According to him, governments could spend substantial public resources constructing and repairing infrastructure, but such investments could quickly be undermined when individuals vandalise facilities meant to serve the wider population.

The reconstruction of the Benin-Sapele Expressway, therefore, represents both an infrastructure intervention and a test of sustained maintenance and public cooperation.

With two contractors expected to work simultaneously and the NDDC promising to accelerate delivery, attention will now turn to the pace and quality of construction on one of the region’s most important and heavily travelled roads.

For thousands of motorists who have endured years of difficult journeys along the corridor, the expectation is straightforward: that the latest intervention will finally restore a road whose economic importance has long exceeded its deteriorating condition.